Hi, Clancy. Well, it's taken a long time for me (and the officers) to get adequate history on the caucuses and SIGs to respond to the question of which are automatic standing groups, and we have to get some rationale and explanation from the task force that revisited SIG status.
The short answer is that the identity-based SIGs (they just happen to be called "caucuses" but everything is, in fact, a SIG) were grandfathered in because of their centrality to the C's diversity mission. The Queer Caucus was erroneously omitted from the original task force report and should have been included with those other four.
All other groups (including the Intellectual Property Caucus) are eligible for Standing Group status. The IP Caucus obviously meets the requirements, but yes, you need to go through the process of applying for Standing Group status, which will include having bylaws, a leadership rotation plan, and so forth. An announcement will go out soon about a deadline for applying in order to meet the conference deadline for next year's C's in Indianapolis.
Let me know if you have any questions. And hope to see you at C's.
Best,
Chris
Chair, Conference on College Composition and Communication
Box 8105, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
(919) 513-4080