An engineering firm acquired a patent on January 1, 20X1 for $140,000. The patent had an original legal life of 20 years. On January 1, 20X1, when the patent was acquired by the engineering firm, it had a remaining legal life of 8 years. This patent is expected to be of value to the firms operations for the next 4 years, through December 31, 20X5. What is the annual patent amortization expense that will appear on the income statement for the year ended December 31, 20X3?

	a.	$52,500.
	b.	$10,500.
	c.	$17,500.
	d.	$35,000.