- 14 - the Agreement terminated. USNB's objectives in signing the Agreement were to gain access to petitioner's mailing list and to obtain petitioner's endorsement. Those are valuable intangible property rights. Sierra Club, Inc. v. Commissioner, 103 T.C. 307, 344 (1994). We find respondent's contention about how USNB designed the credit cards unconvincing. We conclude that petitioner's income from the affinity credit card program was received in exchange for the use of valuable intangible property rights. 2. Whether Petitioner's Use of Its Mailing List Is Inconsistent With Royalty Treatment Respondent contends that petitioner's income from its mailing list is not a royalty because petitioner's use of its mailing list was a trade or business. In Disabled Am. Veterans v. United States, 227 Ct. Cl. 474, 650 F.2d 1178, 1184 (1981), the Court of Claims held that the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) conducted the trade or business of renting its mailing list. From 1974 to 1979, DAV rented parts of its donor list 451 times. Disabled Am. Veterans v. Commissioner, 942 F.2d at 311. DAV continuously rented names on its list during the years in issue. Disabled Am. Veterans v. United States, 650 F.2d at 1184. In renting its donor list, DAV followed the usual practice of the direct mail industry. Id. DAV prepared rate cards showing the rates it charged to customers. Id. It was widely known among list brokers thatPage: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Next
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