BYLAWS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECTION
MAINE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION

Adopted: November 13, 1991
Amended by Board of Governors: January 7, 1992

ARTICLE I: IDENTIFICATION

1.1 NAME. This Section shall be known as:

"The Section on Intellectual Property and shall be hereafter designated simply as "the Section".

1.2 PURPOSE. The general purpose of the Section shall be the promotion of the objectives of the Maine State Bar Association within the particular fields designated by the name of this Section. To that end, it shall be the purposes of this Section: To advocate improvement in the law of intellectual property, to promote better understanding of its principles and to inform its members and other interested members of the Bar as to developments in the law; to undertake projects for the education of members of the Bar and interested members of the general public in the law of intellectual property; to cooperate with sections of the ABA and other state bar associations having similar interests.

1.3 LIMITATIONS. These Bylaws have been adopted subject to the Bylaws of the Association, and particularly Article XV thereof.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

2.1 ENROLLMENT. Any member in good standing of the Association shall, upon request to the Secretary of the Association, be enrolled as a member of the Section by the payment of annual Section dues.

2.2 THE MEMBERSHIP. Members so enrolled and whose dues are paid pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall constitute the Membership of the Section.

2.3 DUES. Dues for membership in the Section shall be an amount set by the Section and approved by the Board of Governors of the Maine State Bar Association, payable upon enrollment and thereafter mutually in advance each year, at the beginning of the Association's fiscal year succeeding such enrollment.

2.4 DELINQUENCY. Any member of the Section whose annual dues shall be more than six months past due shall thereupon cease to be a member of this Section.

ARTICLE III: SECTION ORGANIZATION

3.1 COMMITTEES. This Section is authorized to establish, or to empower the Chairperson of the Section to establish, such committees as it may deem necessary and desirable to promote effectively the activities of the Section within the jurisdiction of the Section. In establishing a new committee, the Section shall state the area of its proposed activities.

3.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson shall announce the membership and the Chairperson of each committee of the Section for the following Section year no later than the business meeting held during the Annual Meeting of the Section.

ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERSHIP

4.1 ANNUAL MEETING. The Section shall hold an Annual Meeting of members in conjunction with either the Annual or Summer Meeting of the Association. The Section may hold other meetings of members throughout the year. The notice requirements for such meetings shall be the same as for the annual meeting.

4.2 QUORUM. The members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

4.3 CONTROLLING VOTE. Action of the Section shall be by majority vote of the members present.

4.4 VOTING ELIGIBILITY. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records for thirty days prior to the time of voting shall be eligible to vote.

4.5 NOTICE. Notice in writing of the place and time of the meeting shall be mailed no fewer than seven or more than forty days to each member entitled to vote at the meeting. In lieu of a separate notice, the notice may be printed in an issue of the Maine State Bar Association Bulletin mailed to each member entitled to vote. A brief statement of the purpose of the meeting shall be included.

4.6 AGENDA. Among the matters of business to be transacted at the annual meeting of the membership shall be the election of officers. The agenda shall consist of other matters as decided by the Chairman.

4.7 MAIL VOTING. The Chairperson may direct that a matter be submitted to the members of the Section for vote by mail. In that event, binding action of the Section shall be by a majority of the votes received from members in accordance with rules fixed by the Section.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS

5.1 OFFICERS. The officers of the Section shall be the Chairperson, the Chairperson-Elect, the Vice-Chairperson, the Secretary and the Treasurer.

5.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson, or successively, the Chairperson-Elect and the Vice-Chairperson, in the absence of the Chairperson, shall preside at all meetings of the Section. The Chairperson shall: (a) appoint the chairpersons and members of any committees of the Section who are to hold office continuously; (b) plan and superintend the program of the Section subject to the directions and approval of the Board of Governors; (c) superintend the performance of all activities of the Section; (d) keep the Board duly informed and carry out its decisions; (e) perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to the office of Chairperson or as may be designated by the Board.

5.3 CHAIRPERSON-ELECT. The Chairperson-Elect shall, on consultation with the Chairperson: (a) arrange for the appointment of the Chairperson and members of any committees who are to hold office during the coming term of the Chairperson-elect; (b) aid the Chairperson in such manner and to such extent as the Chairperson may request; (c) perform such further duties and have such further powers as usually pertain to the office of Chairperson-elect, or as may be designated by the Board of Governors or the Chairperson. In case of the death, resignation or disability of the Chairperson, the Chairperson-elect shall perform the duties of the Chairperson for the remainder of the Chairperson's term or disability, as the case may be.

5.4 VICE-CHAIRPERSON. The Vice-Chairperson shall aid the Chairperson in the manner and to the extent the Chairperson may request.

5.5 SECRETARY. The Secretary shall consult with and assist all the officers of the Section as to the work of the Section generally in the manner and to the extent they may request. The Secretary shall be the liaison between the Section and Association staff regarding the retention and maintenance of books, papers, documents, custody of the Association. The Secretary shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section, whether assembled or acting under submission, and, in conjunction with the Chairperson, shall attend generally to the business of the Section.

5.6 TREASURER. The Treasurer shall prepare such budgets and requests for funding as may be required by the Board of Governors of the Association.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

6.1 ELECTIVE OFFICES. At each annual meeting of the Section, the membership shall elect:

(i) a chairperson-elect, a vice-chairperson, a secretary, and a treasurer, to serve a term of one year.

The offices of secretary and treasurer may be held by the same person.

6.2 CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson-elect shall automatically succeed to the office of Chairperson. He shall serve a term of one year and may not again accede to that office. In the event the office of Chairperson-elect shall be vacant, then a Chairperson shall be elected by Section members.

6.3 ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE. Any member of the Association and the Section whose good standing can be certified by official Association records for thirty days prior to the time of election shall be eligible for office.

6.4 NOMINATIONS AND VOTING. Section members shall elect their officers at their annual meeting.

6.5 TERM OF OFFICE. The term of office shall begin with the adjournment of the Annual Meeting following the election, and shall end following the Annual Meeting at which a successor has been duly elected. If at the close of any term of office a successor has not been elected then the term shall be extended until a successor shall have been elected.

ARTICLE VII: REPRESENTATION OF ASSOCIATION POSITION

Any action by this Section must be approved by the Board of Governors of the Maine State Bar Association before action can be effective as the action of the Maine State Bar Association. Any resolution adopted or action taken by the Section shall, on request of the Section, be reported by the Chairman to the Board of Governors for action by the Association. In all respects, Article XV of the Association Bylaws shall govern.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended at any annual meeting of the Section by a majority vote of the members of the Section present and voting. They shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Governors.