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World Trade Center Association Member
Wins Florida Governor’s New Product Award for 2002

At a ceremony held in the Historic Capitol Building, Tallahassee, FL, Dr. David E. Flinchbaugh of Orlando and his wife, Heidi, received the “Governor’s New Product Award for 2002” for a medium-size company, on behalf of the officers, directors, employees, associates, and strategic partners of UroSolutions, Inc. The company was formed with a mission to develop, manufacture and market unique medical products designed to improve health care and to enhance quality of life. Their initial products are used with patients catheterized as a result of surgery, injury, illness, or disability, in order to allow more normal bladder function and to help avoid complications of the urinary system. Following the personally devastating death of his own father in 1986, caused by a hospital-acquired infection, Dr. Flinchbaugh has labored tirelessly to help others avoid a similar fate. As a result of product demonstrations last year in four countries and around the United States, over 240 representatives from fifty countries, and over 830 U.S. nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals have requested these products from UroSolutions, Inc. for hospital, clinic, nursing home, and home care use.

Dr. Flinchbaugh, a Health Physicist and inventor, moved his family to Florida in 1968 after having worked many years as a scientist for I.B.M., United Technologies, Research Cottrell, and as Director of Research and Development for Andersen Laboratories. He has been a registered Florida Professional Engineer since 1974 and a member of the Florida Governor’s Award sponsoring organizations, the Florida Engineering Society and the Florida Professional Engineers in Industry, since 1978. He has been honored by election to the highest rank of Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in addition to Fellow of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. He also received the Millennium Medal Award at the turn of the century in recognition of his earlier inventions for Westinghouse, which have positively impacted the lives of millions of people around the globe. His family of six has been a productive part of the Central Florida community A co-founder of Control Laser Corp. in 1970, he has been director of the Technology Consulting Center since 1986. Co-founders of UroSolutions, Inc. include C. Edward Maull III, a highly skilled marketing specialist from a native Pine Castle pioneering family, and James and Robbie Ford. Mr. Ford is President of both UroSolutions, Inc. and the very successful, well-established firm of Southeast Medical Products, Inc. in south Orlando.

 
Changes to the IEEE copyright form may be
setting a dangerous precedent?
I'm largely a "quiet" member of the Orlando Section of the IEEE, though
I have been employed by several companies active in various IEEE
standards committees and have had direct input into them over the
years. As an engineer and IEEE member, I regularly find myself
promoting the IEEE and believing in the overall, unwritten mission that
the IEEE fulfills.
 
Unfortunately, a recent change to the IEEE copyright form, given the
extensive reach of the IEEE into the international, technical community,
is a bit disturbing. The form now includes a reference to the US'
Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Most individuals consider the
DMCA to be a "controversial law" because it conflicts with much of the
existing common law surrounding non-digital media. Even one of the
bills two co-sponsors, Orin Hatch (R-Utah) has been vocal in his
disapproval of the application of and loopholes abused in the law.
 
Many of us in the technical community, possibly even yourself, consider
the DMCA to be a law passed largely to not protect IP holders in the
spirit of existing common law on copyrights, patents, trade secrets and
the like, but to open up a new hole into digital exploitation for new
models of revenue (something that I don't mind expanding on with
examples if you like). As a side-effect, the DMCA impedes and even
outlaws various, common technical approaches to problem solving,
innovation and other techniques. This has gone to the point of
criminally prosecuting several individuals even after the original
complaint is withdrawn and the alleged violation rescinded.
 
As an international organization, the IEEE is now pushing this American
Law worldwide. The IEEE is a large organization with the unique
opportunity and perspective to give an unbiased, technical review of a
clearly political situation. As such, I would like to discuss how I,
among others, can have my views heard within the organization. While we
understand that this is probably the result of lawyers and fear of
litigation, there is an unwritten danger to such acknowledgments of
poorly designed US Laws on an international scale.
 
The form in question is here:
https://www.ieee.org/about/documentation/copyright/NewCRform101901.pdf
 
I originally found out about this document in a community site post
here:
https://linux.com/article.pl?sid=02/04/14/0039211
 
And I made a, somewhat "unprofessional," response here (but it gets the
"point across"):
https://linux.com/comments.pl?sid=22599&pid=10923
 
Thank you in advance for your time and I hope you can help steer me
towards some insight and answers within our organization. I am very
familiar with, and quite complementary with regards to, how the IEEE
protects both IP holders and the technical community in general.
 
-- Bryan J. Smith
IEEE Member, 8 Years
 
--
The USDOJ v. Microsoft trial will result in unconditional surrender.
No matter who wins, the consumer will be subject to the victor's
"terms." Which is worse? Clueless government or clueless monopoly?
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Bryan J. Smith, SmithConcepts, Inc. mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
Engineers and IT Professionals https://www.SmithConcepts.com

 

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Updated 04/30/01