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Constitution of the Intellectual Property Students Association

Article I:  Name:  This organization shall be called “Intellectual Property Students Association.”  A common acronym may be IPSA. (One may note that ipsa is Latin for “herself.”) 

Article II: Purpose: The purpose of this organization is to provide opportunities for Tech concerning intellectual property and provide assistance and support for students pursuing intellectual property law. Note: Something of the dry humor and unique culture of intellectual property law is incorporated into this organization, its activities, and documents. 

Article III:  Membership:

§3.1 Requirements: (1) Registered, attending student at Texas Tech University, (2) Individual should be interested in intellectual property law.

§3.2 Selection for membership: Individual shows an interest in the organization.

§3.3 General Limitations on Membership: Any Texas Tech student may be a member of IPSA, but only law students may serve on the executive board; law students participating in the Law and Science: Intellectual Property Certification have priority to officer positions.  However, one (1) exclusively non-law officer position (not on the executive board) exists as “Exterior Liaison” to assist and help facilitate IPSA activities primarily involving non-law majors.

§3.4 Rights of a member: Members of IPSA shall have rights to all fundamental rights, including but not limited to, life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness (not the right to happiness itself), right to education, procreation, any other generally held principles of common decency and courtesy due another human being, and the right to reasonable due process as applied to those rights and any other allowed members. Members shall reference this document, IPSA by-laws, and University handbook and code of conduct to further define this enormous subject.

§3.5 Responsibilities:
1)     Attend and participate in meetings and organization activities. 
2)     Remembering and acting in accord with the knowledge that the organization member is a representative of a noble profession that should be respected by its representative with the utmost ethical and professional displays of conduct.  This does not exclude fun in learning and activities, as is clearly evidenced in this document.  It does however bind a member to ethical and professional conduct.  Unethical conduct may lead to expulsion and honor counsel referrals.  Unprofessional behavior may be evaluated by the executive board according to expulsion procedures and could lead to expulsion from the organization.  The purpose of this responsibility is to insure that members of IPSA properly and professionally represent the organization, the field of intellectual property, and the broader field of law.

§3.6 Resignation of Membership or Office position:
(1)   A member may simply choose to not re-up. 
(2)   An officer must submit a letter of resignation.  A copy of the resignation should be kept in the organization files.

§3.7 Expulsion and Censure Procedures:
(1) A written complaint, signed by at least two members is brought before the officers and advisor officially by plaintiff party.
(2) The defendant should attend a meeting with the officers and the plaintiff and may be accompanied by another member or officer who supports the defendant: it is the duty of an officer to be sure that the defendant has been notified of the meeting and the complaint at least one week prior to the meeting.
(3) A 3/4 majority vote of the officers must find in favor of the expulsion for it to become effective.  A written explanation should be made by each officer who decides in favor of the plaintiff.  (The executive board may elect to censure the defendant rather than expel him/her.  This may be accomplished at the board’s discretion.)
(4) A formal letter of expulsion or censure should be sent to the individual(s) expelled signed by all the officers and the advisor.
(5) Copies of all correspondence concerning the situation (the written complaint, the minutes of the meeting on the subject, the officer reports, and the letter informing the individual(s) of expulsion or censure) should be kept in the files
(6) An officer may be removed from the position of officer to regular member by a majority vote, by secret ballot, of the entire membership. If necessary an officer may be expelled or censured as any other member.

Article IV:

§4.1 Offices:
§4.1.0  The IPSA should be flexible as to the needs of its members, and, therefore, the structure of offices maybe modified by vote of executive board to add or remove positions as needed.  The removal of positions shall not occur unless there are no interested persons willing to act in existing basic capacities.  Extra added positions may be eliminated as necessary, but not to the exclusion of a person or persons who require an officer’s position to achieve a Law & Science Certificate with focus on intellectual property.  Positions beyond the following, the executive board, may be created at the discretion of the board to provide such positions as are reasonable for those who need the position to fulfill academic requirements.  At minimum there must always be a president, treasurer, and SOAC representative. 

§4.1.1 “Chancellor” (president): One who conducts meetings, keeping order.  Is official “voice” of the organization.  The chancellor is responsible for assuming and/or delegating responsibilities with regard to the management and administration of the organization.

§4.1.2 “Prime Minister” (vice-president):One who is there to step in and take president’s position if the president is unavailable to attend or lead meeting(s).  Specific managerial, administrative, and other duties may and should be assigned to or assumed by the individual.

§4.1.3 “Minister of Internal Information” (secretary):One who keeps notes of meetings, writes letters from the organization, helps keep meeting orderly (as far as being sure all relevant information is discussed and/or brought up).

§4.1.4 “Minister of Fiscal Policy” (treasurer): One who keeps track of expenses and spending. He/she can spend up to $50 with only the permission of the executive board. Spending greater than $50 must be agreed to by the whole organization, which is a majority vote in the presence of a quorum.

§4.1.5 “Minister of Propaganda”: Activities manager and director.  One who directs and manages “out-reach” activities within and outside the law school.

§4.1.6 “Minister of Foreign Policy” (SOAC representative): One who attends SGA SOAC meetings as required and represents the organization there.  This position may be assumed by any of the ABOVE listed executive board members or another whom they may assign to the position. The duties of this office may be rotated among the officers of the executive officers.

§4.1.7 “Exterior Liaison”: This position shall be filled by an undergraduate or graduate student from the university who is not a law student.  This individual is a link to the Texas Tech community outside of law and may represent IPSA on main campus, but, in acting for IPSA, shall act only for IPSA under the direction of the executive board, and most often, through the Ministers of Propaganda and Foreign Policy.  This position is NOT a governing position on the board of directors. 

§4.2 - Election process:
(1) An annual election meeting should be held each spring, after re-registration of the organization with the University, the process should be open nomination followed by majority vote, by secret ballot.  Should there be no nominations, a simple majority vote on individuals or, alternatively, specific appointments will suffice.  Members may request not to be included in the vote, or may step down on the same day of election should he/she choose.  Members must be present for election unless they have informed an officer that they are willing to serve.
(2) Only law students may hold the position of officers (except for the Exterior Liaison position).  Non-law students may participate as members if their interest is in IP. 
(3) Law students participating in the law and science program, specializing in IP, have priority for officer positions before other law students.   

§4.3 Resignation of Office: See Article III. Should the president be unable to complete his/her term, the vice-president steps in and takes the role until the term is finished.  The decision whether or not to call a special meeting to elect a replacement vice-president is left to the discretion of the remaining officers.  See election process (Article IV).

Article V  Meeting Times & Quorum:

§5.1 Meeting times: The regular meeting time should be arranged around the availability of the greatest number of members.  A proposal to change it should be made and presented during a regular meeting – if the member requesting a change is unable to attend a meeting he/she should request an officer to propose a change.  The time change is official if a majority of the members vote for the new time.

§5.2 Quorum: Attendance of at least one third of the active membership constitutes a quorum, including no less than two officers.

§5.3 Voting: When a vote is held during a meeting, a record of attendance is kept by the secretary. 

Article VI  Outside affiliations: Affiliations with outside organizations: None.

Article VII  Activities:

§7.1 Proposed Activities: Provide activities to the law school community and non-law Tech commuity: speakers, presentations, activities, et cetera concerning the issues and options in the field of intellectual property.

§7.2 Spending: See §4.1.4 and duties of the Minister of Fiscal Policy.

Article VIII  Committees:

§8.1 Structure of Executive committee: See Article IV, concerning the structure of each officer and the "committee" they form.  The executive committee includes the Chancellor, Prime Minister, Minister of Fiscal Policy, Minister of Interior Information, Minister of Propaganda, and Minister of Foreign Policy.

§8.2 Other committees: Other, specific committees are formed by interested members to accomplish certain goals set by the group.  Executive officers determine what type of committees to form and when to form them.  Committees are formed only of volunteers.  Members can be asked or invited to join a committee, but should feel no obligation except to their responsibilities to the organization.  See Article IV.

Article IX  Staff advisor:

§9.1 Selection procedure for advisor: Members submit a list of the top three choices for faculty advisor to the department chair, who, in turn, assigns the new advisor.

§9.2 Advisor’s responsibilities: Advisor should be a liaison between the University and the Organization.  Should the membership and/or executive committee decide to consult with the individual, he/she must be willing to give advice about activities, processes, etc.  The advisor must also be present for any disciplinary action taken within or involving the organization.

Article X  Rules for order: “Robert’s Rules of Order” shall generally govern the nature of the meetings.  However, a relaxed, open, potentially-fun environment for meetings is important.

Article XI  Amending: This constitution should be reviewed annually, during the organization re-registration process.  However, the Constitution and by-laws should be reviewed during the first meeting of the fall semester to prevent drastic changes or deviations during the course of a school year. The membership should use this time to learn about and make suggestions for these organization documents.  The executive committee is then obligated to bring about discussion and voting during a regular meeting.  To amend this constitution outside the yearly review requires a specific proposal signed by at least three members, one must be on the executive board.  To effect any change, at any time, in the constitution, a two-thirds majority of all the active members (not just the attending quorum) is required.