The Wealth Transfer Group is a consulting firm that provides estate planning services. They serve only clients with estates worth more than US$10,000,000.
In 2006, the Wealth Transfer Group sued former Aetna CEO John Rowe for infringement of a tax patent. [1] The patent, U.S. patent 6,567,790, entitled "Establishing and managing grantor retained annuity trusts funded by nonqualified stock options", covers WTG's SOGRAT ( Stock Option Grantor Retained Annuity Trust) system of minimizing gift tax. [2] The case has been settled for undisclosed terms. [3]
The SOGRAT case is often cited both by those that favor tax patents [4] as well as those that seek to have them banned. [5]
On January 12, 2011, the director of the USPTO initiated a reexamination of US patent 6,567,790. [6] The reexamination serial number is 90/009,868.
- ^ Norris Floyd, "Patent Law is Getting Tax Crazy", International Herald Tribune, October 19, 2006
- ^ Nowotarski, Mark, "Tax Strategies?", Insurance IP Bulletin, October 15, 2006
- ^ Herman, Tom, "Patents on Tax-Related Ideas Stir Worry", Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2007
- ^ Gruner, Richard, "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House Committee on Ways and Means" July 13, 2006
- ^ "Tax-Strategy Patents and the Tax Gap", The Tax Advisor, AICPA, May 2007
- ^ Gene Quinn, "Patent Office Orders Reexamination of Tax Related Patent" IPwatchdog, January 20, 2011
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