- 24 - printed on petitioner's letterhead. Petitioner did not write or pay for the letters. Grafton spent only 3 to 5 minutes reviewing each endorsement letter, and he did not change the letters. An organization's review of marketing materials which bear its name is reasonably related to protecting the organization's name and does not disqualify payments from being royalties. Alumni Association of the Univ. of Or., Inc. v. Commissioner, supra; Oregon State Univ. Alumni Association, Inc. v. Commissioner, supra; Sierra Club, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-199. The Commissioner has ruled that endorsement of products through the use of likenesses and signatures of professional athletes does not prevent payments from being royalties. Rev. Rul. 81- 178, 1981-2 C.B. 135. That ruling discusses two situations. The first situation is substantially like this case, in which the income from the endorsement of products, use of signatures and trademarks, and review of licensed products is a royalty. Id. The second situation involves much more activity, such as personal appearances. The Commissioner ruled that income in that situation is not a royalty. Id. We conclude that petitioner's review of marketing material and endorsement of the program were not services to PB&T.Page: Previous 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Next
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