What Is An Intangible Asset?

Intangible assets are assets that are not physical in nature. These include patents, copyrights, trademarks. Financial assets like stock and bonds are also good examples of intangible assets. Intangible assets can be definite or indefinite. A definite asset has a limited life span. For example, stocks or shares can be sold and transferred to a new owner. Indefinite assets are not limited by time and have a prolonged lifespan. An example of an indefinite asset is a company name. They will continue to sue it as long as they are in operation. An intangible asset can be identified when it can be separated, sold, transferred and or licensed.  

Intangible assets are usually bigger in value as they bring in more money than the tangible assets. A brand name can also be identified as an intangible asset as it cannot change over time. Intangible assets do not have a recorded book value as they are usually not recorded on the balance sheet. Although intangible assets are not physical they have a long term effect on the success and failure of the company. Other examples of intangible assets include brand names, domain names, mailing list, films import quotas, computer software licenses. People who try to tamper with intangible assets usually face the full wrath of the law since they have laws to protect them.