Intangible property is defined to have no physical presence, and its value is said to be independent of any physical characteristics or the services of any individual.  Intangible assets and properties include Patents, Trademarks, Trade Names, Processes, Copyrights, and Goodwill.  Intangible assets must be identifiable (or separable) in order to be distinguished from goodwill.

For U.S. tax purposes, Treas. Reg. § 1.482-4(b) defines intangible property as assets that have substantial value independent of the services of any individual, including patents, inventions, formulae, processes, designs, patterns, or know-how; copyrights; trademarks, trade names, or brand names; franchises, license, or contracts; methods, programs, systems, procedures, forecasts, estimates, surveys, customer lists, technical data; or other similar items.

See FASB Statement No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (June 2001):  www.fasb.org