Final answer:
Research and Development (R&D) costs encompass various expenses related to product or process innovation and improvement, including design changes, engineering follow-up, testing for alternatives, and legal work for intellectual property protection.
Explanation:
Research and Development (R&D) costs refer to expenses incurred in creating or improving products or processes. In the context of the options provided:
- A. Periodic design changes to an existing product: This could be categorized as an ongoing product improvement cost associated with R&D.
- B. Engineering follow-up in an early phase of commercial production: This expense is likely related to refining processes or addressing issues, thus falling under R&D costs.
- C. Testing in search of product or process alternatives: This type of testing is a common R&D activity to explore and develop alternatives.
- D. Legal work in connection with a patent application: Legal work for intellectual property protection, like patents, is also considered a part of R&D costs.
Therefore, options A, B, C, and D could all be classified as research and development costs.
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