what is an intangible asset 
intangible assets differ from tangible assets which have physical forms such as buildings or office furniture for businesses an intangible asset includes patents goodwill and intellectual property investopedia jessica olahtypes of intangible assetsintangible assets are generally considered long term and their value can increase over time an intangible asset like a brand name can be critical to a company s long term success businesses can create or acquire intangible assets for example a company may create a mailing list of clients or establish a patent it can write off the expenses from the process such as filing the patent application hiring a lawyer and paying other related costs 1an indefinite intangible asset stays with the holder as long as it continues to operate such as a brand name a definite intangible asset is restricted to a limited timeframe such as a legal agreement to operate under another company s patent 2 types of intangible assets include any unauthorized use of intellectual property is called infringement this includes using mimicking or copying another entity s brand name logo or other intangible assets 3