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Intangible Assets

6 May, 2015 - 17:39

Intangible assets do not have physical substance. They are not held for sale, and they are usually highly valuable to the business. They include patents, copyrights, trademarks, goodwill, and franchises. Except for goodwill, most intangible assets receive legal protection of exclusive use. The cost of obtaining legal protection for the intangible asset should be debited to the intangible asset account. The periodic loss of value of the intangible asset is called amortization, and is expensed annually. Research and development costs are treated as expense in the year incurred, and are not treated as intangible assets because it is their future success is uncertain.