Pierce Company incurred \(\$ 150,000\) of research and development costs in its laboratory to develop a new product. It spent \(\$ 20,000\) in legal fees for a patent granted on January 2, 1998. On July 31, 1998, Pierce paid \(\$ 15,000\) for legal fees in a successful defense of the patent. What is the total amount that should be debited to Patents through July 31, 1998?

(a) \(\$ 150,000\)

(c) \(\$ 185,000\)

(b) \(\$ 35,000\)

(d) Some other amount