Intangible asset

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An intangible asset is an asset that lacks physical substance. Examples are patents, copyright, franchises, goodwill, trademarks, and trade names, reputation, R&D, know-how, as well as any form of digital asset such as software and data. This is in contrast to physical assets (machinery, buildings, etc.) and financial assets (government securities, etc.).^[1]

Intangible assets are usually very difficult to value.They suffer from typical market failures of non-rivalry and non-excludability.^[2] Today, a large part of the corporate economy (in terms of net present value) consists of intangible assets,^[3] reflecting the growth of information technology and organizational capital.^[4]