, the company made a payment of $280,000 to a computer programmer who managed to duplicate the computer software that allows the M-One modules to operate with the base phone. The programmer had given the company fourteen days to pay, or she would sell the information to a competitor. Management believed that if the information was obtained by a competitor, it would have significant negative consequences for the company. Peach has capitalized the amount of the payment and is amortizing it over the remaining life of the related asset. Subsequently Peach applied for a patent to protect against similar situations from arising in the future.