On Aug 13, 2009, at 4:22 PM, Danny Lieberman wrote:

Geoff

IBM booked(s) custom software development as patent and IP revenue. By that definition Ness would have about 1BN revenue of revenue from IP but as we both know - Ness doesn't have any IP....

Now you are confusing US accounting, copyright, patent and IP rules/ laws and Israeli ones.

It's a matter of definition. You see custom programing as selling work. (body shop) IBM sees it as developing IP which they then sell. It's a very different thing in law and has an affect on copyrights and licensing. For example, if I work for you to develop a program as an employee, or some other similar system, you own the IP rights to the developments and the copyrights (depending upon how well your lawer understands the law).

That would have to be listed as income due to services sold.

If I, per your specification, develop a solution to a problem and produce a program, documentation etc, I own the rights to the IP, the patent, trade secret and copyright rights. In that case they are correct to list it as IP, because that's what they sell.

I have no idea what Ness sells, except stories of 500 year old lizzards. :-)


Buy the book on Amazon.

Not very likely.

Re your IBM friend, look up post-hoc error on Wikipedia


I don't see how it is a post hoc error. It seems to me that they do it because they have to, and patent dedication is another way of making money. In the US, the reduction of taxes can be counted as revenue if used to offset taxes due. Or in other words, if you claim as an expense the full taxes due, you can claim the reduction as revenue, but you can't claim it if you post the reduced taxes. Since it came from the "sale" of IP, it can be listed as revenue from the sale of IP.

Geoff.
--
geoffrey mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Jerusalem Israel geoffreymendel...@gmail.com






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