On January 1, 2015, Moose Co. purchased for $360,000 a patent that had been granted two years earlier. On January 1, 2017, legal costs of $64,000 were incurred in a successful defense of the patent. Assuming the maximum period allowable is used for patent amortization, what is Moose's patent amortization expense for 2017?

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The patent's initial cost of $360,000 plus the $64,000 in legal costs totals $424,000. Patents have a legal life of 20 years, but since it was 2 years old at the time of purchase, it has 18 years of legal life remaining. The amortization for 2017, after the legal defense costs are added, is $424,000 divided by 18, which equals $23,555.56, rounded to $24,000.