Tangibility

{{Short description|Ability of something to be perceived by the senses}} {{Morerefs|date=March 2019}} {{Wiktionary|tangible}}

'''Tangibility''' is the property of being able to be perceived, especially by the sense of touch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=tangibility, n. meanings, etymology and more {{!}} Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/tangibility_n |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924064805/https://www.oed.com/dictionary/tangibility_n |archive-date=2023-09-24 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.oed.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-31 |title=Definition of TANGIBILITY |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangibility |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> Metaphorically, something can also be said to be "cognitively tangible" if one can easily understand it.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Landry |first=Steven James |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_Human_Factors_in_Air_Transpo/sAZADwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT334 |title=Handbook of Human Factors in Air Transportation Systems |date=2017-11-22 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-351-65229-2 |language=en}}</ref>

== Law == In criminal law, one of the elements of an offense of larceny is that the stolen property must be tangible.{{Cn|date=April 2025}}

In the context of intellectual property, expression in tangible form is one of the requirements for copyright protection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Copyright? {{!}} U.S. Copyright Office |url=https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.copyright.gov}}</ref> For example, in the United States, Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 102, states that a work becomes copyrighted when "fixed in any tangible medium of expression".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=17 U.S. Code § 102 - Subject matter of copyright: In general |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref> This includes literary works, music, dramatic works, pantomimes, choreography, films, sound recordings, and architectural works.<ref name=":0" />

In the context of international tax law, article 5(1) of the OECD Model Tax Treaty requires to date a permanent establishment to consist of a ''tangible'' place of business. This is problematic concerning the taxation of the Digital Economy.{{Cn|date=April 2025}}

== Business == In the context of business, the tangibility of products and services lies on a spectrum between pure goods and pure services.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Botha |first=Johan |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Introduction_to_Marketing/kqSx3q8O1hcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA268&printsec=frontcover |title=Introduction to Marketing |last2=Bothma |first2=Cornelius |last3=Brink |first3=Annekie |date=2005 |publisher=Juta and Company Ltd |isbn=978-0-7021-6511-5 |language=en}}</ref> For example, bread and television are considered tangible goods, whereas air travel and investment banking are considered intangible services.<ref name=":2" />

Tangibility may have both negative and positive effects on a business.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Ionica |first=Oncioiu |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sustainability_Reporting_Ethics_and_Stra/OLkIEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA248&printsec=frontcover |title=Sustainability Reporting, Ethics, and Strategic Management Strategies for Modern Organizations |last2=Sorinel |first2=C?pu?neanu |last3=Ioan |first3=Topor, Dan |last4=Maria (Oprea) |first4=Constantin, Dana |date=2020-07-24 |publisher=IGI Global |isbn=978-1-7998-4638-3 |language=en}}</ref> For example, in the Pakistani textile industry, the tangibility ratio negatively correlates with return on assets.<ref name=":3" /> However, tangibility can also make handling conflicts easier from the point of view of agency theory.<ref name=":3" />

== In other fields == The concept of tangibility can be used in software design. For example, this idea helped shape the Onboard Context-Sensitive Information System (OCSIS) developed for use by airplane pilots.<ref name=":1" /> In particular, it helped decide whether or not OCSIS should be handheld, or how it should display the weather.<ref name=":1" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Legal terminology