PIUG Bylaws
(effective September 18, 2009)
ARTICLE I
CORPORATION
1.1. NAME: The
name of the Corporation is Patent Information Users Group Incorporated.
1.2. PLACES OF BUSINESS:
The Corporation shall have its principal place of business in Southfield,
Michigan, and may have such other places of business as the Board of Directors
may from time to time determine.
1.3. PURPOSES:
The purposes for which the Corporation is organized are as follows:
A. To improve business conditions for, maintain and improve the qualifications of, and promote a common
business interest for patent information professionals.
B. To do such things and to
perform such acts to accomplish its purposes as the Board of Directors may
determine to be appropriate and within the meaning of Section 501(c)(6) of the
Internal Revenue Code, as amended, or the corresponding section of any future
tax code (collectively, the "Code") and are not forbidden by the Code, with all
the power conferred on nonprofit corporations under the laws of the State of
Michigan.
1.4. NONPROFIT OPERATION:
The Corporation shall be operated exclusively as a business league within the
meaning of Section 501(c)(6) of the Code as a nonprofit corporation and is not
organized to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit. No part of
the net earnings of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be
distributed to its members, directors, officers or other private persons, except
that the Corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable
compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in
furtherance of its business purposes. The Corporation shall not participate in
or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any
political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public
office. The Corporation may work for the enactment of laws to advance the
common business interests of its members.
1.5. SEAL: The
Corporation may have a seal in the form that the Board of Directors may from
time to time determine. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile to be
impressed, affixed or otherwise reproduced. Failure to affix the seal to
corporate instruments shall not affect the validity of any such instrument.
ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP
2.1. MEMBERSHIP: Membership in the Corporation shall consist of
those individuals having an interest in patent literature, patent
searching, patent analysis and patent databases.
A. Application and Approval of Membership - Applications for
membership shall be reviewed by the Board of Directors or a Board
committee upon payment of any membership dues. An applicant will be
accepted as a member subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
B. Active Member - Any member who is current on dues payments
and whose membership has not been suspended or terminated for any reason,
shall be considered an Active Member. Except as otherwise provided in
these Bylaws, each Active Member is entitled to one vote on each matter
submitted to a vote of members, including elections, may hold office and
may serve as a director of the Corporation.
C. There is no limit to the number of members that the
Corporation may admit.
D. Membership in the Corporation is not transferable and shall
be terminated by death, resignation, expulsion or automatic termination,
as described in Section 2.1E.
E. Automatic Termination - Membership shall become inactive when
the member fails to pay the membership dues in a timely manner or fails to
pay assessments. When a membership has become inactive, the Chair of the
Corporation's committee designated the responsibility of membership
status, or if no committee has been designated, the Treasurer, shall
notify the member in writing that he or she must render payment in order
to maintain status as an Active Member. Inactive members shall have the
right to attend meetings of the members, but shall not be entitled to vote
on any matters or serve as officers or directors. Membership
automatically terminates if a member fails to pay all past due balances to
the Corporation within six months after the date the initial written
notice of any past due balance is sent to the member.
F. Conflicts of Interest - Members are prohibited from unfairly
promoting their own businesses when taking officer, director or committee
chair positions in the Corporation or otherwise participating in the
Corporation's activities. Members are specifically prohibited from using
the Corporation's activities for promoting the commercial interests of
businesses with which they are associated beyond what is permitted by a
sponsorship contract between the businesses and the Corporation. Members
who have a concern over potential, actual or even the appearance of a
conflict of interest shall submit a written concern to the Board of
Directors. Upon receipt, the Board of Directors shall forward all
conflict of interest concerns to a committee designated to review such
concerns. The designated committee shall review all conflict of interest
concerns in a timely manner and make recommendations to the Board of
Directors to resolve such concerns. The Board shall have the sole
responsibility for resolving all conflict of interest concerns and issues.
While such issues or written concerns are pending with the Board of
Directors, the officers, directors or committee chairs who are involved in
such issues, conflicts or potential conflicts of interest shall refrain
from participating in the consideration of, or any voting upon, such
matters. Members who are found to be in violation of this Bylaw shall be
subject to sanctions, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, up to
and including suspension and possible termination of membership in the
Corporation. Such termination of membership would also be subject to
forfeiture of any dues or fees already paid to the Corporation.
G. Use of Corporation's Name and Logo - Members shall not use
the Corporation's name or logo for any promotional or commercial purpose
or any other purpose without the prior written consent of the
Corporation's Board of Directors. Members who are found to be in
violation of this Bylaw shall be subject to sanctions, at the discretion
of the Board of Directors, up to and including suspension and possible
termination of membership in the Corporation.
2.2. DUES AND ASSESSMENTS:
A. Dues payable to the
Corporation by members shall be set by the Board of Directors. The dues will be
collected by the Treasurer of the Corporation and will be payable by the members
annually.
B. The Board of Directors
may assess members and non-members who attend the Corporation's meetings any
fees needed to cover costs and expenses incurred for holding those meetings, as
the Board of Directors determines reasonable.
C. The Board of Directors may
prescribe penalties and sanctions for nonpayment of dues or other obligations
and for the reinstatement of membership.
2.3. ANNUAL MEETING: The membership of the Corporation shall have
an annual meeting no later than June 1, or at such other time as the Board
of Directors may select. The annual meeting place and time shall be
determined by the Board of Directors and stated in the meeting notice.
Annual meetings shall be open to attendance by all members. At the annual
meeting, if it is an election year, the results of the election of
directors and officers shall be announced. In addition, at the annual
meeting, the members will consider such other business as may be properly
brought before the meeting. All members who are Active Members as of the
record date shall be entitled to vote on all matters presented to the
members.
2.4. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings of the members of
the Corporation may be called by the Chairperson for any purpose. The
Chairperson shall call a special meeting for all members upon a written
request from at least 15% of the Active Members. The request shall state
the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is to be called.
2.5. NOTICE OF MEETINGS: Except as otherwise provided by these
Bylaws or by applicable law, written notice of the time, place, if any,
and purposes of a membership meeting shall be given not less than 10 nor
more than 60 days before the date of the meeting to each member of record
entitled to vote, personally, by mail to his or her last address as it
appears in the Corporation's record books, by electronic transmission or
by prominently displaying the notice and including the notice in the
Corporation's newsletter and mailed to each member entitled to vote at the
meeting not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the meeting. The
notice shall include notice of any membership action to be taken. In
fixing and announcing any annual or special meeting of the members, the
notice may announce one or more sessions as closed sessions and such
sessions shall be closed unless the members entitled to vote determine
otherwise. If a member may be present and vote at the meeting by
conference telephone or similar communications equipment, the means of
communication allowed shall be included in the notice. No notice need be
given of an adjourned meeting of members if the time and place to which
the meeting is adjourned are announced at the meeting at which the
adjournment is taken, and at the adjourned meeting the only business to be
transacted is business that might have been transacted at the original
meeting.
Attendance of a person at a meeting of members, in person, constitutes a
waiver of notice of the meeting, except when the member attends a meeting
for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to
the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called
or convened.
2.6. QUORUM; ADJOURNMENT; ATTENDANCE BY CONFERENCE TELEPHONE OR
SIMILAR COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT:
A. Unless a greater or lesser quorum is required in the Articles of
Incorporation, these Bylaws or by applicable law, the Active Members as of
the record date present at a meeting in person who are entitled to vote at
a meeting constitutes a quorum at the meeting, and binding action may be
taken by a majority of those Active Members. Active Members present in
person at such meeting may continue to do business until adjournment,
notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough Active Members to leave less than
a quorum. Whether or not a quorum is present, the meeting may be
adjourned by a majority vote of the Active Members who are entitled to
vote who are present.
B. The Board of Directors may determine that Active Members not
physically present at a meeting of members may participate in the meeting
by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by
which all persons participating in the meeting may hear each other if all
participants are advised of the communications equipment and the names of
the participants in the conference are divulged to all participants.
Participation in a meeting in this manner constitutes presence in person
at the meeting.
C. An Active Member may be present and vote at the adjourned meeting
by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment if he
or she was permitted to be present and vote by that means of communication
in the original meeting notice.
2.7. MEMBER ACTION WITHOUT MEETING: Any action required or
permitted to be taken at an annual or special meeting of members may be
taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if all
of the members entitled to vote thereon consent thereto in writing.
2.8. SUBCHAPTERS: Worldwide sanctioned subchapters of the
Corporation may be formed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the
Board of Directors. Unless otherwise provided in the Articles of
Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable law, sanctioned subchapters
shall not be for the purpose of the election of delegates or
representatives to represent members any annual or special meeting of the
Corporation, or for the purpose of election of members to the Board of
Directors.
All members of a sanctioned subchapter shall become Active Members, as
prescribed in these Bylaws. Any expenses or obligations incurred by the
subchapter are the responsibility of the subchapter, not the Corporation.
Sanctioned subchapters shall be entitled to use any of the Corporation's
trademarks and service marks, subject to the manner prescribed by the
Board of Directors.
2.9. ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: The election of directors
and officers will be held not more than 60 days prior to the annual
meeting of each even numbered year. The Board of Directors shall appoint
a Nominating and Election Committee of three non-candidate Active Members
to oversee the election process. The Nominating and Election committee
will solicit nominations from all Active Members. Election ballots will
be distributed to all Active Members of record entitled to vote not more
than 60 days before the annual membership meeting and all completed
election ballots shall be received by the Nominating and Election
Committee not less than 10 days before the annual membership meeting. The
Nominating and Election Committee shall tabulate all votes and the officer
nominees with the largest number of votes cast for the position in which
they are running shall determine the winner. Directors at large shall be
elected by a plurality of the votes cast. The outgoing chairperson shall
be considered the immediate past chairperson and the Board of Directors
shall elect the immediate past chairperson as the immediate past chair
director to serve on the Board of Directors, with all of the duties,
rights and privileges as a director of the Corporation.
2.10. RECORD DATES: The Board of Directors may fix in
advance a
record date for the purpose of determining Active Members entitled to
notice of and to vote at membership meetings or an adjournment of the
meeting, determining active members who are entitled to vote for the
election of officers and directors, to express consent to or dissent from
a proposal without a meeting or for the purpose of any other action. The
date fixed shall not be more than 60 nor less than 10 days before the date
of the meeting, nor more than 60 days before any other action. In such
case, only the Active Members that shall be Active Members of record on
the date so fixed shall be entitled to notice of and to vote on matters.
ARTICLE III
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
3.1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Board of
Directors comprised of all of the officers of the Corporation, directors at
large and an immediate past chair director. The Board of Directors shall meet
as often as necessary to conduct the business of the Corporation, but at least
annually.
3.2. NUMBER AND SELECTION
OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors shall consist of not fewer than 5
nor more than 11 persons, as the Board of Directors shall determine from time to
time. Directors who are also officers of the Corporation shall serve a two year
term and shall be eligible for re-election. Directors at large shall serve a
four year term and shall be eligible for re-election. The outgoing chairperson
shall be deemed the immediate past chairperson of the Corporation and may serve
in the capacity of immediate past chair director for a term of two years, or as
determined by the Board of Directors.
3.3. VACANCIES:
Each director is to hold office for the term of office and until the director's
successor is elected and qualified, or until the director's death, resignation
or removal. A director may resign by written notice to the Corporation. The
resignation is effective on its receipt by the Corporation or at a subsequent
time as set forth in the notice of resignation. Unless otherwise provided in
the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable law, a director or the
entire Board of Directors may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of a
majority of the members entitled to vote.
Vacancies in the Board of Directors
occurring by reason of death, resignation, removal, increase in the number of
directors, or otherwise shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of
the remaining directors, though less than a quorum of the Board of Directors,
unless filled by proper action of the members of the Corporation. Unless
otherwise provided in the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable
law, each person so elected shall be a director for a term of office continuing
only until the next election of directors. A vacancy that will occur at a
specific date, by reason of a resignation effective at a later date or
otherwise, may be filled before the vacancy occurs, but the newly elected
director may not take office until the vacancy occurs.
3.4. ANNUAL MEETING:
The annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held at such place, date
and time as the Board of Directors may determine from time to time. At the
annual meeting, the Board of Directors shall consider such business as may be
properly brought before the meeting. If less than a quorum of the directors
appear for an annual meeting of the Board of Directors, the holding of such
annual meeting shall not be required and matters which may have been taken up at
the annual meeting may be taken up at any later regular, special or annual
meeting or by consent resolution.
3.5. REGULAR AND SPECIAL
MEETINGS: Regular meetings of the Board of Directors or a committee of
the Board may be held at the times and places, or by means of conference
telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all directors or
committee members can hear each other, that a majority of directors serving on
the Board or such committee may from time to time determine at a prior meeting
or as shall be directed or approved by the vote or written consent of all the
directors serving on the Board or such committee. Special meetings of the Board
of Directors or a committee of the Board may be called by the Chairperson of the
Board of Directors or such committee, and shall be called by the Chairperson on
the written request of any two directors serving on the Board or such
committee. A member of the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board may
participate in a meeting by means of conference telephone or similar
communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the
meeting can hear each other. Participation in a meeting in this manner
constitutes presence in person at the meeting.
3.6. NOTICES: No
notice shall be required for annual or regular meetings of the Board of
Directors or a committee of the Board or for adjourned meetings, whether regular
or special. Three days' written notice, 24-hour telephonic notice or 24-hour
notice by electronic communication shall be given for special meetings of the
Board of Directors or a committee of the Board, and the notice shall state the
time, place, if any, and purpose or purposes of the meeting.
3.7. QUORUM: A
majority of the Board of Directors then in office, or of the members of a Board
committee, constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a
majority of the directors present or Board committee members present at any
meeting at which there is a quorum constitutes the action of the Board of
Directors or of the Board committee, except when a larger vote may be required
by the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable law.
3.8. DISSENTS: A director
who is present at a meeting of the Board of Directors, or a Board committee of
which the director is a member, at which action on a corporate matter is taken,
is presumed to have concurred in that action unless the director's dissent is
entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless the director files a written
dissent to the action with the person acting as secretary of the meeting before
the adjournment of it or forwards the dissent by registered mail to the
Secretary of the Corporation promptly after the adjournment of the meeting. The
right to dissent does not apply to a director who voted in favor of the action.
A director who is absent from a meeting of the Board of Directors or a Board
committee of which the director is a member, at which any such action is taken,
is presumed to have concurred in the action unless he or she files a written
dissent with the Secretary within a reasonable time after the director has
knowledge of the action.
3.9. POWERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors shall have charge, control and
management of the business, property, personnel, affairs and funds of the
Corporation and shall have the power and authority to do and perform all acts
and functions permitted by an organization described in Section 501(c)(6) of the
Code, not inconsistent with these Bylaws, the Articles of Incorporation or the
nonprofit corporation laws of the State of Michigan. In addition to and not in
limitation of all powers, express or implied, now or hereafter conferred upon a
board of directors of nonprofit corporations, and in addition to the powers
mentioned in and implied from Section 1.4 of these Bylaws, the Board of
Directors shall have the power to borrow or raise money for corporate purposes,
to issue bonds, notes or debentures, to secure such obligations by mortgage or
other lien upon any and all of the property of the Corporation, whether at the
time owned or thereafter acquired, and to guarantee the debt of any affiliated
or subsidiary corporation or other entity, whenever the same shall be in the
best interests of the Corporation and in furtherance of its purposes.
The Board of Directors may in any
instance designate one or more officers or agents to execute any check, draft,
note, bond, bill of exchange, order for payment of money, contract, conveyance,
mortgage or other instrument on behalf of the Corporation, and such authority
may be general or confined to specific transactions. The Board of Directors may
also ratify any execution. When the execution of any instrument has been
authorized without specifying the executing officers or agents, the Chairperson
or any Vice Chairperson and the Secretary or Treasurer may execute such
instrument on behalf of the Corporation.
3.10. COMPENSATION:
Unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws, directors shall receive no
compensation for their services on the Board of Directors. The preceding shall
not, however, prevent the Corporation from purchasing insurance as provided in
Section 6.2 nor shall it prevent the Board of Directors from providing
reasonable compensation to a director for services which are beyond the scope of
his or her duties as a director or from reimbursing any director for expenses
actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his or her duties as a
director.
3.11. EXECUTIVE AND OTHER
COMMITTEES: The Board of Directors may appoint committees for any
reason in furtherance of its corporate purposes. Committees and committee
members serve as such at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. Each Board
committee shall have a Board member who is the designated liaison between the
Board and the Board committee. A committee shall have the power and authority
to act as determined from time to time by the Board of Directors, except that a
committee shall not have the power or authority to (a) amend the Articles of
Incorporation; (b) adopt an agreement of merger or consolidation; (c) recommend
to members the sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of the
Corporation's property and assets; (d) recommend to members a dissolution of the
Corporation or revocation of a dissolution; (e) amend these Bylaws; (f) fill
vacancies in the Board of Directors; (g) fix compensation of the directors for
serving on the Board of Directors or a committee thereof; or (h) cancel or
terminate membership. The Board of Directors may designate one or more
directors as alternate members of any committee to replace an absent or
disqualified member at any committee meeting.
3.12. ACTION WITHOUT A
MEETING: Any action required or permitted at any meeting of the Board
of Directors or a committee of the Board may be taken without a meeting, without
prior notice and without a vote, if all of the directors or committee members
entitled to vote thereon consent in writing. Said written consents shall be
filed with the minutes of the proceedings and shall have the same effect as a
vote for all purposes.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
4.1 The officers shall be a
President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, elected by the members in
accordance with Section 2.9 of these Bylaws. The Board may also determine the
need for more than one Vice President, assistant secretaries, assistant
treasurers and other officers of the Corporation, who shall be elected by the
members in accordance with Section 2.9 of these Bylaws. The President is also
the Chairperson of the Corporation and the Vice-President is also the Vice
Chairperson of the Corporation. No officer shall execute, acknowledge or verify
an instrument in more than one capacity if the instrument is required by the
Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable law to be executed,
acknowledged or verified by two or more officers.
4.2. TERM OF OFFICE,
RESIGNATION, REMOVAL: An officer shall hold office for the term for
which he or she is elected or appointed and until his or her successor is
elected or appointed and qualified, or until his or her resignation or removal.
An officer may resign by written notice to the Corporation. The resignation is
effective on its receipt by the Corporation or at a subsequent time specified in
the notice of resignation. In the event of the death, resignation, removal or
other inability to serve as an officer, the Board of Directors shall elect a
successor who shall serve until the expiration of the normal term of such
officer or until his or her successor is elected. An officer elected or
appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors
with or without cause. An officer elected by the members may be removed, with
or without cause, only by a majority vote of those members entitled to vote.
The authority of the officer to act as an officer may be suspended by a majority
vote of the Board of Directors for cause.
The removal of an officer shall be
without prejudice to the contract rights of the officer, if any. The election
or appointment of an officer does not of itself create contract rights.
4.3. AUTHORITY:
All officers, employees, volunteers, members and agents of the Corporation shall
have the authority and perform the duties to conduct and manage the business and
affairs of the Corporation that may be designated by the Board of Directors and
these Bylaws.
4.4. DUTIES OF OFFICERS:
A. Chairperson - The
Chairperson is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Corporation, and, as such, under the direction of the Board of Directors, shall
have power, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to perform all acts, execute
and deliver all documents and take all steps that the Chairperson may deem
necessary or desirable in order to effectuate the actions and policies of the
Board of Directors and to have general powers of supervision and management
usually vested in the president of a corporation, including the authority to
vote all securities of other corporations and business organizations held by the
Corporation. The Chairperson will preside at national level meetings of the
Corporation. The Chairperson shall be a member of all committees and
subchapters of the Corporation.
B. Vice Chairperson - The
Vice Chairperson is also the Vice President of the Corporation. There may be
one or more Vice Chairpersons who shall have such duties as determined from time
to time by the Board of Directors or the Chairperson. When Vice Chairpersons
have been elected, one or more such Vice Chairpersons shall be designated who
shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the Chairperson's absence. The
Vice Chairperson shall also perform all such other duties as the Board of
Directors prescribes.
C. Secretary - The Secretary
shall attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and members and shall record
all votes and minutes of all proceedings; shall give or cause to be given notice
of all meetings of the members and the Board of Directors; and shall keep in
safe custody the seal of the Corporation, if any, and when authorized by the
Board of Directors, affix it to any instrument requiring it, and when so affixed
it shall be attested to by the signature of the Secretary or by the signature of
the Treasurer or an assistant secretary. The Secretary may delegate any of the
duties, powers and authorities of the Secretary or one or more assistant
secretaries, unless the delegation is disapproved by the Board of Directors.
The Secretary shall receive and attend to all correspondence of the Board of
Directors, shall have custody of all documents belonging to the Corporation,
except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, and shall perform such other
duties as usually pertain to the office or as shall be determined from time to
time by the Board of Directors.
D. Treasurer - The Treasurer
shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities, shall keep full
and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in the books of the
Corporation, shall see that an accounting system is maintained which will give a
true and accurate accounting of the financial transactions of the Corporation,
and shall deposit all moneys and other valuable effects in the name and to the
credit of the Corporation in the depositories that may be designated by the
Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall render to the Chairperson and
directors, whenever they may require it, an account of his or her transactions
as Treasurer and of the financial condition of the Corporation. All funds
received by the Treasurer shall immediately be deposited in a depository
designated by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer may delegate any of the
duties, powers and authorities of the Treasurer to one or more assistant
treasurers, unless the delegation is disapproved by the Board of Directors.
4.5. COMPENSATION:
Unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws, officers shall receive no
compensation for their services to the Corporation. The preceding shall not,
however, prevent the Corporation from purchasing insurance as provided in
Section 6.2 nor shall it prevent the Board of Directors from authorizing
reasonable compensation to an officer for services which are beyond the scope of
his or her duties as an officer or from reimbursing any officer for expenses
actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his or her duties as an
officer.
ARTICLE V
SPECIAL CORPORATE ACTS
5.1. The Board of Directors
from time to time shall determine the fiscal year end of the Corporation. In
the absence of a contrary determination by the Board of Directors, the fiscal
year end shall be December 31.
5.2. Books and Records - The
proper officers and agents of the Corporation shall keep and maintain the books,
records and accounts of the Corporation's business and affairs, minutes of the
proceedings of its members, board of directors and committees, if any, and a
list of members, as the Board of Directors shall deem advisable and as shall be
required by applicable and other states or jurisdictions empowered to impose
such requirements. Books, records and minutes may be kept within or without the
State of Michigan in a place that the Board of Directors shall determine. Any
of such books, records and minutes may be in written form or in any other form
capable of being converted into written form within a reasonable time.
5.3. Reliance on Books and
Records - In discharging his or her duties, a director or an officer of the
Corporation, when acting in good faith, may rely on information, opinions,
reports or statements, including financial statements and other financial data,
if prepared or presented by any of the following:
A. One or more directors,
officers or employees of the Corporation, or of a business organization under
joint control or common control, whom the director or officer reasonably
believes to be reliable and competent in the matters presented;
B. Legal counsel, public
accountants, engineers or other persons as to matters the director or officer
reasonably believes are within the person's professional or expert competence;
or
C. A committee of the Board
of Directors of which he or she is not a member if the director or officer
reasonably believes the committee merits confidence.
A director or officer is not
entitled to rely on the information set forth above if he or she has knowledge
concerning the matter in question that makes reliance otherwise permitted
unwarranted.
5.4. If there is any change of
the Michigan statutory provisions providing for uses of electronic transmissions
or paperless communications that create a retrievable and retainable record that
may be directly reproduced in paper form or changes of the use of remote
communications relating to the subject matter of any of these Bylaws, the Board
of Directors is authorized to amend these Bylaws to conform to any such changed
statutory provisions.
5.5. The Board of Directors, by
affirmative vote of a majority of directors in office and irrespective of any
personal interest of any of them, may determine that certain directors,
officers, employees, nondirector volunteers, members or agents of the
Corporation receive discounts and other forms of perquisites in connection with
the annual meeting of members and in connection with other meetings, conferences
or workshops conducted in the course of performance of the Corporation's
business or attended as a representative of the Corporation.
ARTICLE VI
INDEMNIFICATION
6.1. INDEMNIFICATION:
Each person who is or was a director, officer, employee, nondirector volunteer,
or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the
Corporation as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, nondirector
volunteer or agent of another foreign or domestic corporation, business
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise shall be
indemnified by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by the non-profit
corporation laws of the State of Michigan as they may be in effect from time to
time; provided, however, that the preceding shall not require the Corporation to
indemnify any person for any liability, tax or expense to the extent such
indemnification results in the imposition of a tax under Section 4958 of the
Code.
6.2. INSURANCE:
The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who
is or was a director, officer, employee, nondirector volunteer, or agent of the
Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a
director, officer, employee, nondirector volunteer, or agent of another
corporation, business corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against any liability asserted against the person and incurred by the
person in any such capacity or arising out of the person's status as such,
whether or not the Corporation would have power to indemnify the person against
the liability under these Bylaws or by applicable law.
6.3. CHANGES IN MICHIGAN
LAW: If there is any change of the Michigan statutory provisions
applicable to the Corporation relating to the subject matter of this Article VI,
then the indemnification to which any person shall be entitled under this
Article VI shall be determined by the changed provisions, but only to the extent
that the change permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification
rights than the provisions permitted the Corporation to provide before the
change. Subject to Section 6.4, the Board of Directors is authorized to amend
these Bylaws to conform to any such changed statutory provisions.
6.4. AMENDMENT OR REPEAL:
No amendment or repeal of Article VI shall apply to or have any effect on any
person in Section 6.1 for or with respect to any acts or omissions of that
person occurring before the amendment or repeal.
ARTICLE VII
DISSOLUTION
In the event the Corporation shall
abandon the conduct of its purpose and shall be dissolved voluntarily or
involuntarily, all of the corporate assets remaining after payment of all its
obligations in the manner provided by law, shall be distributed for one or more
exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(a) of the Code, or shall be
distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a
public purpose, to be determined by a majority vote of the then current Board of
Directors. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the court
of the county in which the principal office of the Corporation is then located,
exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said
court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such
purposes.
ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENTS
Except as otherwise provided in the Articles of
Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable law, the power to amend or repeal the
Bylaws of the Corporation or to adopt new bylaws is reserved to the members of
the Corporation by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast
by members entitled to vote thereon, provided that notice in writing of such
amendment is submitted to the members no more than 60 days nor less than 10 days
prior to the vote.
These bylaws supercede the Bylaws of 2000-2009.
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