# Tangibility > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tangibility > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tangibility.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangibility > Source revision: 1312461925 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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](/source/perceived), especially by the [sense of touch](/source/sense_of_touch).{{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 }}{{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}} Metaphorically, something can also be said to be "cognitively tangible" if one can easily [understand](/source/understand) it.{{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}} == Law == In [criminal law](/source/criminal_law), one of the elements of an [offense](/source/offence_(law)) of [larceny](/source/larceny) is that the stolen [property](/source/property) must be tangible.{{Cn|date=April 2025}} In the context of [intellectual property](/source/intellectual_property), expression in tangible form is one of the requirements for [copyright](/source/copyright) protection.{{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}} For example, in the United States, [Title 17 of the United States Code](/source/Title_17_of_the_United_States_Code), Section 102, states that a work becomes copyrighted when "fixed in any tangible medium of expression".{{Cite web |title=17 U.S. Code ยง 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}} This includes [literary works](/source/literary_works), [music](/source/music), [dramatic works](/source/dramatic_works), [pantomimes](/source/pantomimes), [choreography](/source/choreography), [films](/source/films), [sound recordings](/source/sound_recordings), and [architectural works](/source/architectural_works). In the context of [international tax law](/source/International_taxation), article 5(1) of the [OECD](/source/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](/source/Digital_Economy).{{Cn|date=April 2025}} == Business == In the context of business, the tangibility of [products and services](/source/products_and_services) lies on a spectrum between pure goods and pure [services](/source/Service_(economics)).{{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}} For example, bread and television are considered tangible goods, whereas air travel and [investment banking](/source/investment_banking) are considered intangible services. Tangibility may have both negative and positive effects on a business.{{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}} For example, in the [Pakistani textile industry](/source/Pakistani_textile_industry), the [tangibility ratio](/source/tangibility_ratio) negatively correlates with [return on assets](/source/return_on_assets). However, tangibility can also make handling conflicts easier from the point of view of [agency theory](/source/agency_theory). == In other fields == The concept of tangibility can be used in [software design](/source/software_design). For example, this idea helped shape the [Onboard Context-Sensitive Information System](/source/Onboard_Context-Sensitive_Information_System) (OCSIS) developed for use by [airplane pilots](/source/Aircraft_pilot). In particular, it helped decide whether or not OCSIS should be handheld, or how it should display the weather. ==See also== * [Tangible property](/source/Tangible_property) * [Tangible media](/source/Tangible_media) * [Tangible user interface](/source/Tangible_user_interface) * [Tangible investment](/source/Tangible_investment) * [Tangible common equity](/source/Tangible_common_equity) ==References== {{Reflist}} Category:Legal terminology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tangibility](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangibility) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangibility?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.