IP -Intellectual Property - the "Intangible" Asset Class with Real Financial Value (Part 1 Copyrights - Music & Film)

In Draft to consider the points we may help Artists on Financials, Taxes and other needs or Attys on related support services.

As a CPA Practice our goal is to support Businesses in various Sectors on needs that deal with Financials, Accounting, Taxes, Compliance, and Management level decision making in Strategic and Operational capacities to support Financial Decision Making.
This is an important skill to bring to the community of Creative Artists where the work of creating Art through Music, Art, Writing, Film or other avenue is a considerable task that needs attention. As you Focus on your ART considering that it may be better sustained as a Career path where Financial skills are in place on your support team to protect your Financial Assets. With services that include Accounting, Financials, Tax Compliance and a Strategic approach to managing the financial element of Creative Arts through supporting Artists with Financial skills.

On that note we bring you to an important point where our skills and experiences
with the Creative and Artistic Community as well as the Financial Services and General Business Sectors meet. For related Accounting, Tax, Financial or other Advisory Services and corresponding Legal Support Services (for Attorneys) on Expert Testimony, Paralegal or Litigation paralegal support interests on services. reaching out to the Artistic Community of Creative Artists, Musicians, Writers and Film communities in Our Economy. Our landing page for the Musical Community is http://www.dcarsoncpa.com/resources/ip_-_intellectual_property and we will soon have other specific pages defined for relevant other areas.

Each day through process of research and through following the news from Public Finance, Legislation, News and the Courts it is evident to us where there are opportunities to better support the Artistic community that in brief includes Artists, Musicians, Writers, and the Film Community from the Financial Perspective. 

A clear and important part of this need is through Accounting and using the tools of Financial Decision Making. With knowledge of Financials to better protect the Financial Interests of Creative Artists. We have Financial expertise that can help to better inform and protect you on Finances with insight through Financials. To additionally support your reporting needs with Tax Compliance.

We connect to Creative professionals with Financial skills from Industry and with an appreciation that although in Accounting Terms your works may be defined as "Intangible" Assets  or in Compliance / Legal terms defined as "Intellectual Property" (IP) you are engaged in creating Real Financial Value. The best way to Financially oversee your Creative Properties of  Financial Value is to use the tools of Accounting, Tax and other related Financial Analysis and Compliance terms to track the Assets you create with the established tools of Financial Management.

We focus on Financials and the Business end so you can Focus on your Creative skills, but are also interested in helping you grow Business skills for insight to Financial Decision Making tools to support your needs from the Business end.

Reinforcing that even as an Artist the Financial element of your Operations is a Business it's important to consider the protection of the Creative Works you make as Intellectual Property which is in Accounting terms an "Intangible" Asset with real financial value.

To create IP or and Intangible the first step is always to File and Protect your Creations a process best supported with Legal advice from an Attorney specializing in Intellectual Property or Copyright Laws to be specific.

If you are just starting on your path as an Artist and you do not have the Financial ability to contract an Attorney -  you should consult your Local Bar to see if you may connect with pro bono (for good - no charge or low cost) Legal support. The course of last resort would be to prepare your own filings where you may not succeed on the two points above. This is possible but not without risk as Intellectual Property is a Legal Property right best evaluated with professional skills by an Attorney (and we are not Attorney's and provide NO Legal Insight; rather our point is Financial and Control driven for Accounting purposes with some insight to how an IP Asset comes to life as an "Intangible Asset". In all scenarios the goal is protection of the Financial Value   in your Creative work through your own Independent pursuit of protected interests through Actions (taken in Legal Steps) that ultimately may create a Financial Asset with Business Value.

We are NOT Attorneys, but we are Financial Professionals with strong Accounting, Financial, Tax and Compliance skills to connect with your interests in IP  from a Financial perspective and can partner with your Attorneys or work directly with you as best suits your needs.

As you grow on the path of creating IP you will have Assets with corresponding Revenue Streams and although you may be a very fnancially successful artist, in that dimension you also become a business. The best thing you can do to be a business person in Financial terms is to use the tools of Accounting to develop Financials, track Assets, Liabilities, Ownership, Revenues and Expenses to manage your Financials. To build and maintain wealth it is best to track that wealth.

We are on the Strategic and Operational side and can offer investment neutral services to protect your wealth as our focus is on the Accounting, Tax and Financial Analysis of the matters currently. This means that we can on an inteim basis produce Financials that will help you track Royalties, track your Assets and Lead your ART as a business decision maker for Long term success. The best way to manage Financials is to build Financials for insight and we can teach you how to better understand the numbers and financials in context to your ART.

All that stated below please find links to important background information explaining Copyrights and then specialized Copyrights for Music and Film in overview.

We are pleased to assist you on related needs on Financials, Taxes and Busines growth where you have corresponding needs. You can find our contact information below.


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DCarsonCPA.com for Financial Decision Makers in Government, Industry, Non Profit and Individual roles with a close connection to both the Financial and Creative Industries through experience in Business and Music at Berklee College of Music. We work with the knowledge of Financials and related Accounting, Taxation, Economics, Statistics, Finance, Taxes and Regulatory Compliance that connects Decision Makers. Learn more at www.dcarsoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .

Connecting to the US Courts

Intro:

One of the recurrent needs in following updates in news of the courts on Financial Cases is to understand districts. The role that the Courts play in respect to Financial Decision Making requires an understanding of the important relevance and location of districts.

Substance:

From a simple analysis of the significance of  Federal Court Districts  (this is not a Legal definition) the courts are important at the disctrict level for the specific ways that interperet cases. These interpretations of Cases (which Lawyers would likely refer to as "Case Law") communicate the application of various rules per the district and give a sense of the local application of rules.

This interesting feature of Our Legal system (in non legal terms) gives rise to regional perspectives in analysis and application of rules which is important to represent an area but would not fundamentally change the reasoning or intent of a Rule or Law, rather it would influence that Rule or Law's interpretation.

This analysis is not a "Legal" view point as I am not an attorney and would have no claim to a legal view. Rather it is just my current functional understanding.

National vs. State and Local Courts:

The US District Courts in the map provided deal with National (Federal) issues. Each state and local district will have it's own unique courts, cases and rules. None of the State or Local Courts are presented here as this is a map of the National (Federal) Courts.

The Federal Districts for Courts are referred to as Circuits and can be seen in the map below.

CircuitMap - The (Federal) Courts


Outro:

The next time that you see a financial news  article that states, for example 4th Circ. you'll understand from this map the general jurisdiction which is in turn potentially broken out to underlying North, South, east and West sub divisions.


DCarsonCPA.com connecting a line on Government, Industry, Non Profit and Individual Financials for Decision Makers.

For immediate opportunties on Client Services and for the broader opportunities to help on analysis and ideas on places where we can all work together in support of decision makers at the local, state and national levels. Supporting ideas and analysis that can help the Economy present and future for Families, Individuals, Communities and the shared duties we have as Stakeholders and Custodial Trustees in Our shared National Financial Future.

Learn more at www.dcarsoncpa.com or inquire at info@dcarsoncpa.com .

Judicial Reports for 2011

One of the key points to understanding more about our Economy is the important but frequently overlooked role of the Court - "the Third Branch" where important work with Financial Implications is taking place each day.  The workflows of the court may or may not be measurable in Financial terms. where the Courts work to provide safety and justice, not ALL of the work may be summarized in Financial Terms.

The Attached report on the Courts for 2011 is a starting point to learn more from the Administrative perspective. In the world of cost accounting we call activities drivers and they are connected to expenses for purposes of Management Financials. The Framework of Cost Accounting provides a relevant look at Administrative activities in many areas to better evaluate operations and economic impacts. The court has financial elements of Revenues (Fees and Judgements) and Expenses (operations, personnel, facilities, technology, supplies and more), but also a non-financial element of Societal Benefit through supporting the avenue for covering needs in balance for Liberty, Justice and Individual Rights.

The important role of the courts in balance is best explained by the court itself :

http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/FederalCourtsInAmericanGovernment.aspx

As with any Branch in Government, the Court is an Entity in terms of operations. The additional important function of Justice has very many intangible, non-quantifiable societal benefits. The Framework of Accounting just better explains the operations for understanding. The Courts as the "Third Branch" represent an important and sometimes overlooked element of the Economy.


 Judicial Business 2011

DCarsonCPA for Financial Decision Makers in Government, Industry, Non Profit and Individual capacities. We work with Accounting, Taxes, Business and Financial Analysis, Advisory and Research to support client needs on Services.

For the immediate opportunity on Client Services and the broader opportunity to potentially help on finding points where we can ALL work together to help on ideas for the present and future challenges in Our Shared Financial Future at the Local, State and National levels.

Learn more at  www.dcarsoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .

The Economy in Recap / Beige Book for July 2012

 Below please find the July 2012 "Beige Book" the key summary of All Regions in the Economy's activity for the period ended June 2012. Read on to connect directly to the key report on the Economy by region.


Beigebook_20120718


DCarsonCPA at the connecting line of Decision Making to support Government, Industry, Non Profits and Individuals on Financials.


For the immediate opportunity to support your needs on financials, accounting, taxes, financial and business analysis, advisory and more and for the broader opportunity to use the skill set to help work together on the needs of recovery through supporting decision makers with insight.

The First step on problem solving is defining the nature of the problem through growing knowledge that can help. Being informed is a key first step to the path of being able to consider ideas and solutions that may help on the Economy.


Learn more at www.dcarsoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .

DOL / ERISA + Fiduciary Plans: Troubleshooter's Guide to IRS Form 5500 and Form 5500 SF

DOL / ERISA + Fiduciary Plans: The Troubleshooter's Guide to IRS Form 5500 and Form 5500 SF

Troubleshooters Guide


DCarsonCPA at the connecting lines of Government, Industry, Non Profit + Individual Financials and corresponding Decision Making to support Clients on services with active knowledge, hands on skills, teamwork and research. Learn more at www.dcarsoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .

Federal Taxes § 1.641(a)-2 Gross income of estates and trusts.

Connecting with the IRC to let Clients and interested parties know that we are here for you on correponding Services - Todays look connects to Estates and Trust an important intersecting point of  specifically defined Legal  Entity (in this case the Trust) and corresponding Tax Compliance responsibilities.

Trusts are an important area where Legal needs, responsibilities and corresponding Accounting and Tax duties connect. The citation below addresses the start point of Taxation upon the Gross Income of Estates and Trusts through introducing and defining "Gross Income of Estates and Trusts" for Tax Purposes under the IRC.

Our focus is on the Accounting, Tax and Compliance of the matter - for Legal Interpretations and Legal Advice you would need to consult an Attorney.

 

§ 1.641(a)-2 Gross income of estates and trusts.

The gross income of an estate or trust is determined in the same manner as that of an individual. Thus, the gross income of an estate or trust consists of all items of gross income received during the taxable year, including:

(a) Income accumulated in trust for the benefit of unborn or unascertained persons or persons with contingent interests;

(b) Income accumulated or held for future distribution under the terms of the will or trust;

(c) Income which is to be distributed currently by the fiduciary to the beneficiaries, and income collected by a guardian of an infant which is to be held or distributed as the court may direct;

(d) Income received by estates of deceased persons during the period of administration or settlement of the estate; and

(e) Income which, in the discretion of the fiduciary, may be either distributed to the beneficiaries or accumulated. The several classes of income enumerated in this section do not exclude others which also may come within the general purposes of section 641.

Citation as of 6/5/12 ALL US Tax Laws subject to change and update and you must confirm as filing or relying.

DCarsonCPA.com your link to accounting, tax, advisory, compliance and other related support services from the practice of Dean T. Carson II, CPA. We work with hands on skills from Financial Services and General Business, knowledge, teamwork and research to support the needs of Financial Decision Makers. Find us on the web at www.dcarssoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .

Regulation SHO (2010) - SEC Regulation Definition of Short Sales and Circuit Breaker (with VWAP mention)

SEC Regulation SHO—Regulation of Short Sales and Circuit Breaker (with VWAP mention):

§ 242.200 Definition of “short sale” and marking requirements.

(a) The term short sale shall mean any sale of a security which the seller does not own or any sale which is consummated by the delivery of a security borrowed by, or for the account of, the seller.

(b) A person shall be deemed to own a security if:

(1) The person or his agent has title to it; or

(2) The person has purchased, or has entered into an unconditional contract, binding on both parties thereto, to purchase it, but has not yet received it; or

(3) The person owns a security convertible into or exchangeable for it and has tendered such security for conversion or exchange; or

(4) The person has an option to purchase or acquire it and has exercised such option; or

(5) The person has rights or warrants to subscribe to it and has exercised such rights or warrants; or

(6) The person holds a security futures contract to purchase it and has received notice that the position will be physically settled and is irrevocably bound to receive the underlying security.

(c) A person shall be deemed to own securities only to the extent that he has a net long position in such securities.

(d) A broker or dealer shall be deemed to own a security, even if it is not net long, if:

(1) The broker or dealer acquired that security while acting in the capacity of a block positioner; and

(2) If and to the extent that the broker or dealer's short position in the security is the subject of offsetting positions created in the course of bona fide arbitrage, risk arbitrage, or bona fide hedge activities.

(e) A broker-dealer shall be deemed to own a security even if it is not net long, if:

(1) The broker-dealer is unwinding index arbitrage position involving a long basket of stock and one or more short index futures traded on a board of trade or one or more standardized options contracts as defined in 17 CFR 240.9b–1(a)(4); and

(2) If and to the extent that the broker-dealer's short position in the security is the subject of offsetting positions created and maintained in the course of bona-fide arbitrage, risk arbitrage, or bona fide hedge activities; and

(3) The sale does not occur during a period commencing at the time that the NYSE Composite Index has declined by two percent or more from its closing value on the previous day and terminating upon the end of the trading day. The two percent shall be calculated at the beginning of each calendar quarter and shall be two percent, rounded down to the nearest 10 points, of the average closing value of the NYSE Composite Index for the last month of the previous quarter.

(f) In order to determine its net position, a broker or dealer shall aggregate all of its positions in a security unless it qualifies for independent trading unit aggregation, in which case each independent trading unit shall aggregate all of its positions in a security to determine its net position. Independent trading unit aggregation is available only if:

(1) The broker or dealer has a written plan of organization that identifies each aggregation unit, specifies its trading objective(s), and supports its independent identity;

(2) Each aggregation unit within the firm determines, at the time of each sale, its net position for every security that it trades;

(3) All traders in an aggregation unit pursue only the particular trading objective(s) or strategy(s) of that aggregation unit and do not coordinate that strategy with any other aggregation unit; and

(4) Individual traders are assigned to only one aggregation unit at any time.

(g) A broker or dealer must mark all sell orders of any equity security as “long,” “short,” or “short exempt.”

(1) An order to sell shall be marked “long” only if the seller is deemed to own the security being sold pursuant to paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section and either:

(i) The security to be delivered is in the physical possession or control of the broker or dealer; or

(ii) It is reasonably expected that the security will be in the physical possession or control of the broker or dealer no later than the settlement of the transaction.

(2) A sale order shall be marked “short exempt” only if the provisions of §242.201(c) or (d) are met.

(h) Upon written application or upon its own motion, the Commission may grant an exemption from the provisions of this section, either unconditionally or on specified terms and conditions, to any transaction or class of transactions, or to any security or class of securities, or to any person or class of persons.

[69 FR 48029, Aug. 6, 2004, as amended at 72 FR 36359, July 3, 2007; 72 FR 45557, Aug. 14, 2007; 75 FR 11323, Mar. 10, 2010]

§ 242.201 Circuit breaker.

(a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:

(1) The term covered security shall mean any NMS stock as defined in §242.600(b)(47).

(2) The term effective transaction reporting plan for a covered security shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(22).

(3) The term listing market shall have the same meaning as the term “listing market” as defined in the effective transaction reporting plan for the covered security.

(4) The term national best bid shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(42).

(5) The term odd lot shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(49).

(6) The term plan processor shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(55).

(7) The term regular trading hours shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(64).

(8) The term riskless principal shall mean a transaction in which a broker or dealer, after having received an order to buy a security, purchases the security as principal at the same price to satisfy the order to buy, exclusive of any explicitly disclosed markup or markdown, commission equivalent, or other fee, or, after having received an order to sell, sells the security as principal at the same price to satisfy the order to sell, exclusive of any explicitly disclosed markup or markdown, commission equivalent, or other fee.

(9) The term trading center shall have the same meaning as in §242.600(b)(78).

(b)(1) A trading center shall establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to:

(i) Prevent the execution or display of a short sale order of a covered security at a price that is less than or equal to the current national best bid if the price of that covered security decreases by 10% or more from the covered security's closing price as determined by the listing market for the covered security as of the end of regular trading hours on the prior day; and

(ii) Impose the requirements of paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section for the remainder of the day and the following day when a national best bid for the covered security is calculated and disseminated on a current and continuing basis by a plan processor pursuant to an effective national market system plan.

(iii) Provided, however, that the policies and procedures must be reasonably designed to permit:

(A) The execution of a displayed short sale order of a covered security by a trading center if, at the time of initial display of the short sale order, the order was at a price above the current national best bid; and

(B) The execution or display of a short sale order of a covered security marked “short exempt” without regard to whether the order is at a price that is less than or equal to the current national best bid.

(2) A trading center shall regularly surveil to ascertain the effectiveness of the policies and procedures required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section and shall take prompt action to remedy deficiencies in such policies and procedures.

(3) The determination regarding whether the price of a covered security has decreased by 10% or more from the covered security's closing price as determined by the listing market for the covered security as of the end of regular trading hours on the prior day shall be made by the listing market for the covered security and, if such decrease has occurred, the listing market shall immediately notify the single plan processor responsible for consolidation of information for the covered security pursuant to §242.603(b). The single plan processor must then disseminate this information.

(c) Following any determination and notification pursuant to paragraph (b)(3) of this section with respect to a covered security, a broker or dealer submitting a short sale order of the covered security in question to a trading center may mark the order “short exempt” if the broker or dealer identifies the order as being at a price above the current national best bid at the time of submission; provided, however:

(1) The broker or dealer that identifies a short sale order of a covered security as “short exempt” in accordance with this paragraph (c) must establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent incorrect identification of orders for purposes of this paragraph; and

(2) The broker or dealer shall regularly surveil to ascertain the effectiveness of the policies and procedures required by paragraph (c)(1) of this section and shall take prompt action to remedy deficiencies in such policies and procedures.

(d) Following any determination and notification pursuant to paragraph (b)(3) of this section with respect to a covered security, a broker or dealer may mark a short sale order of a covered security “short exempt” if the broker or dealer has a reasonable basis to believe that:

(1) The short sale order of a covered security is by a person that is deemed to own the covered security pursuant to §242.200, provided that the person intends to deliver the security as soon as all restrictions on delivery have been removed.

(2) The short sale order of a covered security is by a market maker to offset customer odd-lot orders or to liquidate an odd-lot position that changes such broker's or dealer's position by no more than a unit of trading.

(3) The short sale order of a covered security is for a good faith account of a person who then owns another security by virtue of which he is, or presently will be, entitled to acquire an equivalent number of securities of the same class as the securities sold; provided such sale, or the purchase which such sale offsets, is effected for the bona fide purpose of profiting from a current difference between the price of the security sold and the security owned and that such right of acquisition was originally attached to or represented by another security or was issued to all the holders of any such securities of the issuer.

(4) The short sale order of a covered security is for a good faith account and submitted to profit from a current price difference between a security on a foreign securities market and a security on a securities market subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, provided that the short seller has an offer to buy on a foreign market that allows the seller to immediately cover the short sale at the time it was made. For the purposes of this paragraph (d)(4), a depository receipt of a security shall be deemed to be the same security as the security represented by such receipt.

(5)(i) The short sale order of a covered security is by an underwriter or member of a syndicate or group participating in the distribution of a security in connection with an over-allotment of securities; or

(ii) The short sale order of a covered security is for purposes of a lay-off sale by an underwriter or member of a syndicate or group in connection with a distribution of securities through a rights or standby underwriting commitment.

(6) The short sale order of a covered security is by a broker or dealer effecting the execution of a customer purchase or the execution of a customer “long” sale on a riskless principal basis. In addition, for purposes of this paragraph (d)(6), a broker or dealer must have written policies and procedures in place to assure that, at a minimum:

(i) The customer order was received prior to the offsetting transaction;

(ii) The offsetting transaction is allocated to a riskless principal or customer account within 60 seconds of execution; and

(iii) The broker or dealer has supervisory systems in place to produce records that enable the broker or dealer to accurately and readily reconstruct, in a time-sequenced manner, all orders on which a broker or dealer relies pursuant to this exception.

(7) The short sale order is for the sale of a covered security at the volume weighted average price (VWAP) that meets the following criteria:

(i) The VWAP for the covered security is calculated by:

(A) Calculating the values for every regular way trade reported in the consolidated system for the security during the regular trading session, by multiplying each such price by the total number of shares traded at that price;

(B) Compiling an aggregate sum of all values; and

(C) Dividing the aggregate sum by the total number of reported shares for that day in the security.

(ii) The transactions are reported using a special VWAP trade modifier.

(iii) The VWAP matched security:

(A) Qualifies as an “actively-traded security” pursuant to §242.101 and §242.102; or

(B) The proposed short sale transaction is being conducted as part of a basket transaction of twenty or more securities in which the subject security does not comprise more than 5% of the value of the basket traded.

(iv) The transaction is not effected for the purpose of creating actual, or apparent, active trading in or otherwise affecting the price of any security.

(v) A broker or dealer shall be permitted to act as principal on the contra-side to fill customer short sale orders only if the broker's or dealer's position in the covered security, as committed by the broker or dealer during the pre-opening period of a trading day and aggregated across all of its customers who propose to sell short the same security on a VWAP basis, does not exceed 10% of the covered security's relevant average daily trading volume.

(e) No self-regulatory organization shall have any rule that is not in conformity with, or conflicts with, this section.

(f) Upon written application or upon its own motion, the Commission may grant an exemption from the provisions of this section, either unconditionally or on specified terms and conditions, to any person or class of persons, to any transaction or class of transactions, or to any security or class of securities to the extent that such exemption is necessary or appropriate, in the public interest, and is consistent with the protection of investors.

[75 FR 11323, Mar. 10, 2010]


As of read date 6/2/2012 ALL SEC Rules subject to change and updates and you must confirm as filing or relying. For appropriate interpretation of the Legal Rules you should consult with Legal Counsel. For Accounting, Tax and Compliance support needs or other related analysis, training or research needs we are interested in hearing from you.

DCarsonCPA.com is the weblink to to the practice of Dean T. Carson II, CPA at work at the intersection of Government, Industry, Non Profits  and Individuals through Financials, Taxes and Compliance where we ALL connect on Financials and related needs to support Clients.

Our work also embraces the notion that we can work with Financial knowledged to help us all better connect for important opportunities on the Federal, State and Local levels for the challenges we face today and tomorrow in Public Finance. Working to provide insight along with constructive and productive support of our elected decision makers and candidates with productive ideas on  fiduciarily sound Financial Management in the days ahead. For the opportunity to encourage that Financial Professionals work with knowledge that can help on new ideas for measurement tools and analysis in support of Public Decision Making that will help guide us back to a path of National Prosperity. Learn more at www.dcarsoncpa.com or e-mail info@dcarsoncpa.com .