[Wikipedia-l] Dream a little...

[Andrew Gray]

On 18/10/06, Anthony <wikilegal at 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
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk