{{Short description|Goods without physical nature}}

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

An '''intangible good''' is something that provides utility which does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a physical good (an object).<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 patents and copyrights), 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 such as downloadable music, mobile apps or virtual goods used in virtual economies 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 or the images stored on a film master." <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.<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

==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'', v. 2, pp.&nbsp;546–48. Includes historical and contemporary uses of the terms in economics.

{{Goodtypes}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Goods