# Intangible good

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{{Short description|Goods without physical nature}}

[[File:Fediverse smartphone apps (photo by Elena Rossini).jpg|thumb|right|200px|The downloadable [mobile app](/source/mobile_app)s shown on this [smartphone](/source/smartphone) screen are intangible goods because they have no physical presence. ]]

An '''intangible good''' is [something that provides utility](/source/Good_(economics)) which does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a physical good (an [object](/source/Physical_body)).<ref>{{Cite web |title=What are intangible goods? |url=https://www.jwp-poland.com/faq/what-are-intangible-goods/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=JWP |language=en-US}}</ref> Intangible goods do not have a physical presence, but "ownership rights exist for them (established with [patent](/source/patent)s and [copyright](/source/copyright)s), they can be stored, and their ownership transferred."<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title= North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada [Provisional Version 0.1] – Introduction
|url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/napcs/provisional_introduction
 |website=www.statcan.gc.ca 
 |location= |publisher= Statistics Canada|access-date=20 January 2026}}</ref>

[Digital goods](/source/Digital_goods) such as [downloadable music](/source/music_download), [mobile app](/source/mobile_app)s or [virtual goods](/source/virtual_goods) used in [virtual economies](/source/virtual_economy) are proposed to be examples of intangible goods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intangible product |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/intangible-product |website=Collins Dictionary}}</ref> 
Other examples of intangible goods include "scientific inventions, and "originals" such as the words in a book [manuscript](/source/manuscript) or the images stored on a [film master](/source/Master_recording)." <ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title= North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada [Provisional Version 0.1] – Introduction
|url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/napcs/provisional_introduction
 |website=www.statcan.gc.ca 
 |location= |publisher= Statistics Canada|access-date=20 January 2026}}</ref> Another example of a category of intangible goods is [intellectual property](/source/intellectual_property).<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title= North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada [Provisional Version 0.1] – Introduction
|url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/napcs/provisional_introduction
 |website=www.statcan.gc.ca 
 |location= |publisher= Statistics Canada|access-date=20 January 2026}}</ref>

In contrast, tangible goods have a physical presence. Examples include newspapers, music CDs, and movie DVDs. These are the "physical expression of intangible goods that can be copyrighted."
<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title= North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada [Provisional Version 0.1] – Introduction
|url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/napcs/provisional_introduction
 |website=www.statcan.gc.ca 
 |location= |publisher= Statistics Canada|access-date=20 January 2026}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [Service-goods continuum](/source/Service-goods_continuum)

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Bannock, Graham ''et al.''. (1997). ''Dictionary of Economics'', Penguin Books.
*Hill, Peter 1999. "Tangibles, intangibles and services: a new taxonomy for the classification of output." ''Canadian Journal of Economics''. Vol. 32, no. 2. April. p.&nbsp;426-447.
* Milgate, Murray (1987), "goods and commodities," ''[The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics](/source/The_New_Palgrave%3A_A_Dictionary_of_Economics)'', v. 2, pp.&nbsp;546–48. Includes historical and contemporary uses of the terms in economics.

{{Goodtypes}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Goods

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Intangible good](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_good) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_good?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.