Intangible assets

Intangible assets have two primary traits:

• They do not have a physical substance.
• They are not financial instruments.

Intangible assets acquire value from the rights and privileges granted from using them, such as patents, trademarks, or copyrights. These assets can be created internally or purchased. In addition, how each asset’s cost is determined depends on use.

Easy Company’s CEO noticed that the intangible assets are considerably higher than expected. She is questioning the valuation of each asset type and whether each is properly categorized at all. Your task is to prepare a response:

• Choose two asset categories from the following: market-related, customer-related, artistic-related, contract-related, and technology-related intangible assets.
• Compare and contrast the reporting and valuation of each.
• Explain your rationale and support your response with specific examples.