Wing v. Commissioner

33 T.C. 110, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56, 123 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 360
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 23, 1959
DocketDocket No. 69094
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 33 T.C. 110 (Wing v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wing v. Commissioner, 33 T.C. 110, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56, 123 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 360 (tax 1959).

Opinion

OPINION.

TURNER, Judge:

The respondent determined deficiencies in income tax against the petitioners for the calendar years 1951, 1952, and 1953, and an addition to tax for the year 1951, as follows:

Addition to tax, Year Deficiency sec. 294(d) (2)
1951_ $8, 408. 36 $1, 546. 49
1952_ 1, 214. 87 _
1953_ 23, 125. 44 _

The issue raised by the pleadings is whether certain income received by petitioners with respect to certain patents is taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. A decision upon this question also decides petitioners’ liability for an addition to tax for 1951, for substantial underestimation of estimated tax for that year, under section 294(d) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939.

All of the facts have been stipulated and are found as stipulated.

Petitioners are husband and wife, and residents of Excelsior, Minnesota. They filed their joint income tax returns for the calendar year 1951 with the collector of internal revenue and for the calendar years 1952 and 1953 with the district director of internal revenue for Minnesota. They kept their books and filed their returns on a cash receipts and disbursements basis.

Russell T. Wing, hereafter referred to as petitioner or Wing, invented a feed for fountain pens, in receipt of which, on June 7, 1937, he filed application (serial No. 146,846) for a United States patent.

On January 24, 1938, petitioner and the Parker Pen Company, hereafter referred to as Parker, entered into a written agreement relating to Wing’s patent and improvements thereto. Under part I of the agreement, petitioner granted to Parker an “option to acquire exclusive rights and license to manufacture, use and sell fountain pens embodying” petitioner’s present inventions and improvements made thereon.

Parker exercised this option granted by part I of the agreement.

Part II of the agreement, titled Exclusive License, provides in part as follows:

II. EXCLUSIVE LICENSE
Conditioned upon Parker’s election to accept the “Exclusive License” herein granted, * * * such exclusive license shall be upon the following terms, covenants and agreements, to be truly and faithfully performed:
1. Wing hereby grants and gives unto Parker subject to the terms, provisions and conditions hereinafter set forth, the exclusive right and license to make or cause to be made, to use, and to sell or cause to be sold, throughout the world, fountain pens embodying said present inventions and said improvements, under and for the life of any Letters Patent or applications for Letters Patent therefor, unless sooner terminated under the provisions hereof.
2. [Parker is obligated to pay Wing, $5,000 as an advanced payment of the entire “minimum royalty” for the first license year beginning as of the acceptance of this license.]
3. [Parker is obligated to pay an “earned royalty” of 27/ioo of 1 per cent of the invoice or sale price of each pen sold embodying any of Wing’s inventions, but only that amount of the earned royalty which, if any, is in excess of the minimum royalty. For each license year after the first Parker is required to pay in advance a “minimum royalty” of $8,000.]
4. Parker shall be responsible, and assumes such responsibility, for all licensed transactions and obligations hereunder affecting the rights and/or interests of Wing, but with respect to any right or license that is herein granted to Parker, Parker is hereby authorized by Wing to exercise the same (subject always to Parker’s said responsibility) by or through any other Company or agency, in this or any foreign country, that is controlled by or affiliated with Parker; and this instrument of agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of Parker and the heirs, legal representatives and assigns of Wing.
5. During all such time as it holds license under this agreement, Parker shall keep true records from which all royalties payable under this agreement, and the dates of accrual thereof, may readily be determined, which said records shall be open to inspection of said Wing or his accredited representatives at all reasonable times. * * *
6. Parker shall have the right to cancel this license hereunder at any time by giving Wing written notice of such cancellation ninety (90) days or more in advance thereof; and Wing shall have the right to cancel the license of Parker for any breach or default thereof by Parker, provided that Wing shall give Parker ninety (90) or more days notice in writing of his intention to cancel, specifying the cancellation date and specifying the breach or default, such cancellation to be effective as of tbe date so stated, unless in tbe meantime Parker shall bave made good its stated breach or default. * * *
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12. During tbe term of its exclusive license, Parker shall bave tbe right to bring and maintain suit under patents for said present inventions and/or improvements against infringers thereof, in its own name and/or tbe name of tbe licensor, and to make settlement with infringers; Wing to bave tbe right to be represented, at bis own separate expense, in any such proceedings by advisory counsel who shall be kept duly informed by Parker of tbe proceedings therein. Costs and expenses of any such suit shall be paid by Parker. In the event of any recovery and/or settlement in money and/or money-equivalent, arising from such infringement, tbe same shall go to Parker and Wing shall bave no interest therein.

On January 16,1940, United States Patent No. 2,187,528 was issued to. tbe petitioner on his application of June 7, 1937.

Improvements falling under the Parker agreement were thereafter invented by petitioner, as follows:

Applications for patents
Oct. 3, 1941_Serial No. 413,440
Apr. 10, 1944_Serial No. 530,330
Oct. 27, 1945_Serial No. 624,994
U.S. patents issued
May 12, 1942_No. 2,282,840
Oct. 10, 1944_No. 2,360,297
Oct. 14, 1947_No. 2,428,863

Under date of February 26, 1943, petitioner, Parker, and W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company, hereafter referred to as Sheaffer, entered into a written agreement, which provided in part as follows:

1. WING and PARKER agree, simultaneously with tbe execution of this agreement, to enter into a modification of said Wing-Parker Agreement to an extent sufficient to enable PARKER to grant SHEAFFER a limited license under said Wing patents Nos.

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Related

Wing v. Commissioner
33 T.C. 110 (U.S. Tax Court, 1959)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
33 T.C. 110, 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 56, 123 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wing-v-commissioner-tax-1959.