However, capitalising the expenditure as an intangible asset on the balance sheet may be more beneficial to the company's finances.

The lack of physical substance would therefore seem to be a defining characteristic of an intangible asset.

Organizations have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages.

Stock markets give indirectly an estimate of a corporation's intangible asset value.

This led to taxpayers having the incentive to ignore any basis in the intangible asset until it was sold.