On 10/18/06, Andrew Gray <shimgray(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 18/10/06, Anthony <wikilegal(a)inbox.org>
wrote:
No. Copyrights are only deductible to the extent
of the basis in the
property (essentially how much you spent to obtain it). For copyrights
purchased from someone else you might also be able to deduct any net income
which the charity makes off the copyright. See the American Jobs Creation
Act of 2004.
So *that's* what the "basis" is. I was finding that detail
surprisingly hard to figure out!
Hmm.
"If you donate a patent or other intellectual property ... your
deduction is limited to the basis of the property or the fair market
value of the property, whichever is less." - IRS Publication 526.
So does this mean that it's considered valueless until someone has
bought or sold it - it has no basis until then? I can sort of see how
this might happen, but it seems conceptually odd on some level...
--
- Andrew Gray
Well, I hear that's one definition of value economics uses - what
someone is willing to pay for something.
Although suppose I wrote an article and sold a guaranteed licensed
free and vandalism free copy to some project like Citizendium or the
Encyclopedia Project, and I donated the copyright to the Wikimedia
Foundation: would that then be deductible?
--Gwern