Past Director’s Report
 
Volunteerism- IEEE has been concerned about low levels of volunteering among its
members. Recent data show, among the population as a whole, an increase in
volunteering among young adults. Many of them attended middle schools and high
schools where community service was required. Higher educational attainment goes
hand in hand with increased volunteering. For the U.S. as a whole, 26.4 percent of
citizens volunteer for some cause; in the south it is 24.2 percent. Of those who do
volunteer, 23.9 percent do it for an educational cause, such as IEEE. A breakdown
by cities and states is found at https://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/

Patent Reform Act of 2009- A new revision of the bill that came out two years ago
was introduced in March. It still has numerous provisions that make it harder for
the entrepreneurial inventor-engineer to defend a patent against infringement by
large corporations. A summary is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Reform_Act_of_2009 Two weeks ago, Rep. Dana
Rohrabacher gave an extended speech on the floor of the House summarizing the
perils of this new bill. It is found at
https://rohrabacher.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=137305 It changes
the process from first-to-invent to first-to-file, and makes it harder to get
triple damages from an infringer who won’t pay royalties to the patent owner. A Pro
and Con on the new bill, Sen. Leahy versus Rep.Rohrabacher, is found at
https://rohrabacher.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=124534 The bill
numbers are H.R. 1260 and S. 610. Hearings have been held in the House Judiciary
Committee. During the August congressional recess you can visit district offices to
make your views known.

Director-Elect Election – You should be receiving your ballots for IEEE elections
in about a month. Included is the election for the Region 3 director-elect for
2010-2011. We have two well-qualified candidates. Your vote is essential to
continue making IEEE the member-directed organization that it is.
 
George F. McClure
g.mcclure @ ieee.org