Benton Pena @ technology + culture + life and everything in between » Marketing http://www.bentonpena.org Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How to Structure Your Startup to Avoid Double Taxation http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:10 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html Creating a legal entity for your startup will establish much-needed separation between you and your business. Shielding your personal assets is the first and foremost reason to think about incorporating.

But let’s face it. When it comes down to choosing a business structure, small business owners are typically concerned about one thing: taxes.

There are a whole host of reasons to incorporate as a C Corporation. For example, the C Corp is the preferred structure if you intend on seeking VC funding or taking the company public. But forming a C Corp involves more paperwork, legal fine print and potential double taxation.

Understanding the Pitfall of Double Taxation

From a legal stance, a C Corp is a separate entity that can sue and be sued. When it comes to taxes, a C Corp is a separate tax payer that files its own federal and state (where applicable) tax returns. This means that profits are first taxed with the corporation. Then, if the corporation decides to take that profit and distribute dividends to shareholders, the dividends are taxed again (this time, on each shareholder’s personal tax statement).

To better understand the potential of double taxation, let’s look at an example: Carl owns a graphic design business and formed a C Corporation (he’s the only shareholder at the moment). His business took in $90,000 in profit in 2011. As a C Corporation, the business would first be taxed on the profits, paying $19,000 (assuming $13,750 plus 34% of the amount over $75,000).

Carl wants to take that money home, and decides to distribute it to himself as a dividend. He will also owe taxes (at the 15% qualifying dividend rate) on the dividend payment.

Carl’s total tax payments amount to $19,000 (corp) plus $13,500 (personal), totaling $32,500.

Avoiding Double Taxation: Pass-Through Tax Treatment

Two business structures are often preferred for small businesses, since they avoid this double taxation burden: the LLC (limited liability company) and S Corporation. With these business structures, the company is taxed more like a sole proprietor or a partnership than as a separate entity, like the C Corporation.

Company profits are “passed through” and reported on the personal income tax return of the shareholders.

Here’s what it would mean for Carl and his graphic design business: Carl incorporates his graphic design business as a C Corporation, then chooses to elect “S Corporation Status” by filing form 2553 with the IRS in a timely manner (note: the S Corporation deadline is 75 days from the day your company is formed, or March 15 for existing companies).

His company earned $90,000 in profit in 2011. As an S Corporation, the business itself pays no income tax. Since Carl is a shareholder and also works in the business, he must pay himself a reasonable wage for his activities. This will be subject to his personal income tax rate.

Then, he can distribute the rest of the profits to himself as a dividend, which are taxed at a 15% qualifying dividend rate.

Please bear in mind that these examples are over-simplified to introduce the concept of double taxation at the highest level. As expected, nothing is ever so simple when it comes to the world of business taxes. Discussing your particular situation with a trusted tax advisor or accountant can go a long way to helping you determine which business structure and tax treatment is optimal for you.

The LLC and S Corporation

Both the LLC and S corporations offer the pass-through tax treatment explained above. And both will protect your personal assets from any potential liabilities of the company (whether from an unhappy customer, unpaid supplier or anyone else who might pursue legal action).

Yet, the LLC and S Corp feature some key differences as well. Stay tuned for my next post, when I explore these differences and how they impact your business.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bluestocking

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/lVWm62TqX88/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html/feed 0 How to Structure Your Startup to Avoid Double Taxation http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:10 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html Creating a legal entity for your startup will establish much-needed separation between you and your business. Shielding your personal assets is the first and foremost reason to think about incorporating.

But let’s face it. When it comes down to choosing a business structure, small business owners are typically concerned about one thing: taxes.

There are a whole host of reasons to incorporate as a C Corporation. For example, the C Corp is the preferred structure if you intend on seeking VC funding or taking the company public. But forming a C Corp involves more paperwork, legal fine print and potential double taxation.

Understanding the Pitfall of Double Taxation

From a legal stance, a C Corp is a separate entity that can sue and be sued. When it comes to taxes, a C Corp is a separate tax payer that files its own federal and state (where applicable) tax returns. This means that profits are first taxed with the corporation. Then, if the corporation decides to take that profit and distribute dividends to shareholders, the dividends are taxed again (this time, on each shareholder’s personal tax statement).

To better understand the potential of double taxation, let’s look at an example: Carl owns a graphic design business and formed a C Corporation (he’s the only shareholder at the moment). His business took in $90,000 in profit in 2011. As a C Corporation, the business would first be taxed on the profits, paying $19,000 (assuming $13,750 plus 34% of the amount over $75,000).

Carl wants to take that money home, and decides to distribute it to himself as a dividend. He will also owe taxes (at the 15% qualifying dividend rate) on the dividend payment.

Carl’s total tax payments amount to $19,000 (corp) plus $13,500 (personal), totaling $32,500.

Avoiding Double Taxation: Pass-Through Tax Treatment

Two business structures are often preferred for small businesses, since they avoid this double taxation burden: the LLC (limited liability company) and S Corporation. With these business structures, the company is taxed more like a sole proprietor or a partnership than as a separate entity, like the C Corporation.

Company profits are “passed through” and reported on the personal income tax return of the shareholders.

Here’s what it would mean for Carl and his graphic design business: Carl incorporates his graphic design business as a C Corporation, then chooses to elect “S Corporation Status” by filing form 2553 with the IRS in a timely manner (note: the S Corporation deadline is 75 days from the day your company is formed, or March 15 for existing companies).

His company earned $90,000 in profit in 2011. As an S Corporation, the business itself pays no income tax. Since Carl is a shareholder and also works in the business, he must pay himself a reasonable wage for his activities. This will be subject to his personal income tax rate.

Then, he can distribute the rest of the profits to himself as a dividend, which are taxed at a 15% qualifying dividend rate.

Please bear in mind that these examples are over-simplified to introduce the concept of double taxation at the highest level. As expected, nothing is ever so simple when it comes to the world of business taxes. Discussing your particular situation with a trusted tax advisor or accountant can go a long way to helping you determine which business structure and tax treatment is optimal for you.

The LLC and S Corporation

Both the LLC and S corporations offer the pass-through tax treatment explained above. And both will protect your personal assets from any potential liabilities of the company (whether from an unhappy customer, unpaid supplier or anyone else who might pursue legal action).

Yet, the LLC and S Corp feature some key differences as well. Stay tuned for my next post, when I explore these differences and how they impact your business.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, bluestocking

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/lVWm62TqX88/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/how-to-structure-your-startup-to-avoid-double-taxation.html/feed 0 Valentine’s Twitter Campaign: Your Tweets Read by ‘Golden Voice of Love’ http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:09 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html Ted Williams, the former homeless man with the golden voice who hit YouTube fame in early 2011, is back for a Twitter-based Valentine’s Day campaign for Kraft Macaroni Cheese.

From Feb. 12 to 14, Williams will shoot up to 100 videos for the brand’s “Golden Voice of Love” campaign. The videos will feature Williams applying his sonorous tones to reads of selected tweets using the hashtag “#VoiceOfLove,” which Twitter users can send to their paramours. (@kraftmacncheese will tweet messages to the winners to notify them.)

As with past programs Williams has executed for the brand, there’s a philanthropic component as well: Each #VoiceOfLove tweet will trigger a donation of 100 boxes to Feeding America, a homeless advocacy group. Kraft will give up to 100,000 boxes.

Williams catapulted to YouTube and Reddit notoriety in Jan. 2011 after Columbus Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth II filmed a brief interview with Williams, who was panhandling at the side of a highway. Mainstream media picked up on the video and Williams appeared on CBS’s The Early Show, among other places.

Williams was soon given a chance to cash in on his sudden fame when Kraft tapped him to do voiceovers for its Macaroni Cheese ads. Though Williams faded from view since then, Kraft continued to use him as spokesman. Last month Entertainment Tonight also did a profile of Williams, who had suffered a few setbacks over the last year, in which he was shown to be sober and living with his girlfriend in a nice condo.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/q0IftpxGz3g/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html/feed 0 Valentine’s Twitter Campaign: Your Tweets Read by ‘Golden Voice of Love’ http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:09 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html Ted Williams, the former homeless man with the golden voice who hit YouTube fame in early 2011, is back for a Twitter-based Valentine’s Day campaign for Kraft Macaroni Cheese.

From Feb. 12 to 14, Williams will shoot up to 100 videos for the brand’s “Golden Voice of Love” campaign. The videos will feature Williams applying his sonorous tones to reads of selected tweets using the hashtag “#VoiceOfLove,” which Twitter users can send to their paramours. (@kraftmacncheese will tweet messages to the winners to notify them.)

As with past programs Williams has executed for the brand, there’s a philanthropic component as well: Each #VoiceOfLove tweet will trigger a donation of 100 boxes to Feeding America, a homeless advocacy group. Kraft will give up to 100,000 boxes.

Williams catapulted to YouTube and Reddit notoriety in Jan. 2011 after Columbus Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth II filmed a brief interview with Williams, who was panhandling at the side of a highway. Mainstream media picked up on the video and Williams appeared on CBS’s The Early Show, among other places.

Williams was soon given a chance to cash in on his sudden fame when Kraft tapped him to do voiceovers for its Macaroni Cheese ads. Though Williams faded from view since then, Kraft continued to use him as spokesman. Last month Entertainment Tonight also did a profile of Williams, who had suffered a few setbacks over the last year, in which he was shown to be sober and living with his girlfriend in a nice condo.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/q0IftpxGz3g/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/valentines-twitter-campaign-your-tweets-read-by-golden-voice-of-love.html/feed 0 Twitter: Now You Can Tweet By Satellite http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:05 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html Twitter has announced a new partnership with major satellite providers to give their subscribers access to Twitter SMS, the original text-based Twitter service.

According to a statement released Thursday, the company has partnered with Iridium and Thuraya, the world’s two largest satellite providers, to increase the number of people that can use Twitter SMS worldwide. The company said the new partnership will help guarantee greater global access to the microblogging network.

“Now, even if phone lines and the Internet are inaccessible — for example, in a war zone or after a natural disaster — people will be able to share news and stay informed via Twitter,” reads the statement.

Where cell towers are susceptible to being knocked offline by weather, earthquakes or military attack, satellite networks are often more stable.

The partnership keeps the company close to its original roots in SMS, which is the standardized text messaging feature found in cellphones and other mobile devices. When Twitter began in 2006, it was designed to utilize SMS to easily send a short message to a group of people. As the service grew, it launched its own platform aside from SMS.

However, tweets can still be sent via SMS, and it’s that feature which has made Twitter popular in parts of the world with scarce mobile broadband connectivity. Users who are on a mobile carrier that offers Twitter SMS support can make use of two-way “short codes.”

One roadblock: some cell carriers don’t support Twitter SMS. But Twitter has a solution for users on those carriers.

The company has set up a number of “long codes,” which people can use to send tweets. After setting up a Twitter account for long code use, a user can put such a code in the “recipient” field of a text, and Twitter will automatically pick up their text and tweet it from their account. That can be helpful in low or no-bandwidth situations such as political upheavals or regional emergencies.

So far, Twitter has set up long codes for users in the UK, Germany and Finland. Long codes are limited to outgoing tweets only.

What do you think of Twitter’s efforts to increase Twitter SMS’s availability worldwide? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, enot-poloskun

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/9p4AqNoOZ1s/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html/feed 0 Twitter: Now You Can Tweet By Satellite http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:19:05 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html Twitter has announced a new partnership with major satellite providers to give their subscribers access to Twitter SMS, the original text-based Twitter service.

According to a statement released Thursday, the company has partnered with Iridium and Thuraya, the world’s two largest satellite providers, to increase the number of people that can use Twitter SMS worldwide. The company said the new partnership will help guarantee greater global access to the microblogging network.

“Now, even if phone lines and the Internet are inaccessible — for example, in a war zone or after a natural disaster — people will be able to share news and stay informed via Twitter,” reads the statement.

Where cell towers are susceptible to being knocked offline by weather, earthquakes or military attack, satellite networks are often more stable.

The partnership keeps the company close to its original roots in SMS, which is the standardized text messaging feature found in cellphones and other mobile devices. When Twitter began in 2006, it was designed to utilize SMS to easily send a short message to a group of people. As the service grew, it launched its own platform aside from SMS.

However, tweets can still be sent via SMS, and it’s that feature which has made Twitter popular in parts of the world with scarce mobile broadband connectivity. Users who are on a mobile carrier that offers Twitter SMS support can make use of two-way “short codes.”

One roadblock: some cell carriers don’t support Twitter SMS. But Twitter has a solution for users on those carriers.

The company has set up a number of “long codes,” which people can use to send tweets. After setting up a Twitter account for long code use, a user can put such a code in the “recipient” field of a text, and Twitter will automatically pick up their text and tweet it from their account. That can be helpful in low or no-bandwidth situations such as political upheavals or regional emergencies.

So far, Twitter has set up long codes for users in the UK, Germany and Finland. Long codes are limited to outgoing tweets only.

What do you think of Twitter’s efforts to increase Twitter SMS’s availability worldwide? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, enot-poloskun

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/9p4AqNoOZ1s/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/twitter-now-you-can-tweet-by-satellite.html/feed 0 Today’s Top Stories: Google’s Cloud Storage, iPad Rumors http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:52 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html Social Media NewsWelcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Google to Launch Cloud Storage Service [REPORT]

Google plans to launch a cloud storage service similar to Dropbox, according to a report by WSJ. Google’s service will be called Drive, and it will let users store and share photos, videos and other documents in Google’s cloud, say sources familiar with the matter.

iPad 3 Might Come With Different Screen and Thicker Case

A supposed iPad 3 case suggests the next generation iPad might have a thicker profile and a different screen from iPad 2, 9to5Mac reports. The mounts for the logic board are also different than the current model, which suggests a bigger battery, and the camera might also be new and (hopefully) improved.

Lenovo’s Q3 Earnings Report

Lenovo just posted its Q3 2011 earnings report, and it’s brimming with big numbers and positive trends. The company’s net profit of $153 million on an $8.4 billion revenue is a 54% increase year-over-year. The Chinese electronic goods manufacturer was doing particularly well on its home turf, where it currently holds a 35.3% market share.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/A9C1LtAK8jM/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html/feed 0 Today’s Top Stories: Google’s Cloud Storage, iPad Rumors http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:52 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html Social Media NewsWelcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Google to Launch Cloud Storage Service [REPORT]

Google plans to launch a cloud storage service similar to Dropbox, according to a report by WSJ. Google’s service will be called Drive, and it will let users store and share photos, videos and other documents in Google’s cloud, say sources familiar with the matter.

iPad 3 Might Come With Different Screen and Thicker Case

A supposed iPad 3 case suggests the next generation iPad might have a thicker profile and a different screen from iPad 2, 9to5Mac reports. The mounts for the logic board are also different than the current model, which suggests a bigger battery, and the camera might also be new and (hopefully) improved.

Lenovo’s Q3 Earnings Report

Lenovo just posted its Q3 2011 earnings report, and it’s brimming with big numbers and positive trends. The company’s net profit of $153 million on an $8.4 billion revenue is a 54% increase year-over-year. The Chinese electronic goods manufacturer was doing particularly well on its home turf, where it currently holds a 35.3% market share.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/A9C1LtAK8jM/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/todays-top-stories-googles-cloud-storage-ipad-rumors.html/feed 0 NASA TV Goes HD … Finally http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:51 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html nasa-tv-hd-600NASA Wednesday upgraded the broadcast channels it operates to high-def. The two NASA TV channels, one for the public and the other for media, will switch to HD formats on Feb. 17 — or about five years after HDTV went mainstream in the U.S.

The upgrade to NASA TV’s Public Channel (channel 101) affects the most people. The channel is carried by many cable and satellite providers, NASA says, and shows coverage of the agency’s missions and events as well as documentaries and archival programming.

The Media Channnel (channel 103) is for local, national and world news organizations. It provides material on missions and news conferences, plus audio and video relevant to news coverage.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Space Stories of 2011

The two channels will broadcast in different HD formats. While the public channel will transmit in the MPEG-2 broadcast standard for digital television (at 15.877 Mbps), the media channel will be in MPEG-4 (at 15.409 Mbps), which is more friendly to multimedia applications.

With the change, NASA said its current HD channel (channel 105) will be terminated.

Don’t own a TV, or don’t subscribe to cable or satellite? you can still watch NASA TV live on the Internet over at NASA’s website, which uses UStream to deliver the feed. Although the feed is said to be high-def, some source material isn’t, since NASA often shows archive footage or video shot by non-HD cameras.

Do you get NASA TV from your cable or satellite provider? What sort of HD shows would you like to see from the space agency? Let us know in the comments.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/r_qzX907b9I/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html/feed 0 NASA TV Goes HD … Finally http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:50 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html nasa-tv-hd-600NASA Wednesday upgraded the broadcast channels it operates to high-def. The two NASA TV channels, one for the public and the other for media, will switch to HD formats on Feb. 17 — or about five years after HDTV went mainstream in the U.S.

The upgrade to NASA TV’s Public Channel (channel 101) affects the most people. The channel is carried by many cable and satellite providers, NASA says, and shows coverage of the agency’s missions and events as well as documentaries and archival programming.

The Media Channnel (channel 103) is for local, national and world news organizations. It provides material on missions and news conferences, plus audio and video relevant to news coverage.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Space Stories of 2011

The two channels will broadcast in different HD formats. While the public channel will transmit in the MPEG-2 broadcast standard for digital television (at 15.877 Mbps), the media channel will be in MPEG-4 (at 15.409 Mbps), which is more friendly to multimedia applications.

With the change, NASA said its current HD channel (channel 105) will be terminated.

Don’t own a TV, or don’t subscribe to cable or satellite? you can still watch NASA TV live on the Internet over at NASA’s website, which uses UStream to deliver the feed. Although the feed is said to be high-def, some source material isn’t, since NASA often shows archive footage or video shot by non-HD cameras.

Do you get NASA TV from your cable or satellite provider? What sort of HD shows would you like to see from the space agency? Let us know in the comments.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/r_qzX907b9I/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/nasa-tv-goes-hd-finally.html/feed 0 Google Wants a 2.25% Cut of Every iPhone Sale http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:48 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html Looking to earn back some of the $12.5 billion it’s spending to buy Motorola Mobility, Google sent a letter to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers looking for a maximum 2.25% cut of sales for phones that use Motorola’s technology, including Apple‘s iPhone.

The letter, which went out to the IEEE on Wednesday, outlines Google’s position on Motorola patents if and when the proposed takeover is executed. (Reports say it could happen next week.) Most striking was Google’s insistence on continuing to enforce a 2.25% fee on iPhones based on the model’s use of Motorola patents.

Google’s stance comes about two weeks after Motorola Mobility filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of infringing on its technology patents. Motorola’s complaint, filed in a Florida federal court, concerns patents for the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud service.

Patents has proved to be a key issue for Google and likely a primary impetus for the Motorola Mobility acquisition. That bid came after a very public spat this summer between Google, Apple and Microsoft over patents.

Google fired the first salvo in early August by using its Official Blog to kvetch about an “organized campaign by Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” The post, by David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer, went on to accuse Apple and Microsoft for being “in bed together” in an attempt to hurt Google’s business via patent claims.

Though Apple stayed above the fray, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith took to Twitter to point out that Microsoft had invited Google to jointly bid on patents from Novell. Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s lead of corporate communications, also posted a letter from Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, refusing Microsoft’s invitation regarding the Novell patents.

BONUS: iPhone 4S Product Details


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Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/F6gwNkEPSTM/

]]> http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html/feed 0 Google Wants a 2.25% Cut of Every iPhone Sale http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:18:48 +0000 Benton Pena http://www.bentonpena.org/marketing/google-wants-a-2-25-cut-of-every-iphone-sale.html Looking to earn back some of the $12.5 billion it’s spending to buy Motorola Mobility, Google sent a letter to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers looking for a maximum 2.25% cut of sales for phones that use Motorola’s technology, including Apple‘s iPhone.

The letter, which went out to the IEEE on Wednesday, outlines Google’s position on Motorola patents if and when the proposed takeover is executed. (Reports say it could happen next week.) Most striking was Google’s insistence on continuing to enforce a 2.25% fee on iPhones based on the model’s use of Motorola patents.

Google’s stance comes about two weeks after Motorola Mobility filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of infringing on its technology patents. Motorola’s complaint, filed in a Florida federal court, concerns patents for the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud service.

Patents has proved to be a key issue for Google and likely a primary impetus for the Motorola Mobility acquisition. That bid came after a very public spat this summer between Google, Apple and Microsoft over patents.

Google fired the first salvo in early August by using its Official Blog to kvetch about an “organized campaign by Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” The post, by David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer, went on to accuse Apple and Microsoft for being “in bed together” in an attempt to hurt Google’s business via patent claims.

Though Apple stayed above the fray, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith took to Twitter to point out that Microsoft had invited Google to jointly bid on patents from Novell. Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s lead of corporate communications, also posted a letter from Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, refusing Microsoft’s invitation regarding the Novell patents.

BONUS: iPhone 4S Product Details


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