Also known as: intangibles · intangible property · intangible assets
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Property lacking physical form or substance that cannot be touched. An incorporeal asset such as intellectual property, securities, bank accounts, contract rights, or causes of action.
Israel Irving prepares notes summarizing witness interviews for an upcoming trial. The notes lack any physical embodiment beyond digital files. When the opposing party seeks discovery, the court treats the notes as qualifying for work-product protection because they constitute the intangible equivalent of tangible material prepared in anticipation of litigation.
The board of Ideal Solutions authorizes issuance of stock to Ines Ibarra in exchange for her agreement to provide future consulting services. The services qualify as intangible property or benefit to the corporation. After the board determines the consideration adequate, the shares are treated as fully paid and nonassessable once the services begin.
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Isaac Irving, domiciled in State A, assigns payment rights under a contract to a creditor in State B. The assignment involves an intangible right without physical situs. A court applies the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the debtor and the assignment to determine whether the transfer is effective.
Ines Ibarra attends a segregated school where she cannot interact with students of other races. The separation produces intangible feelings of inferiority that affect her ability to learn and engage with peers. A court recognizes these non-quantifiable effects as constitutionally significant in evaluating equal educational opportunity.
Ismael Ibrahim asserts a liberty interest in his claimed relationship with a child born during the mother's marriage to another man. The claimed connection consists of intangible fibers linking parent and child. A court examines whether those intangible ties are sufficiently substantial to receive constitutional protection.
Ingrid Innes holds an unpaid bill against a decedent's estate. The claim is an intangible interest without physical form. A court treats the cause of action as property protected by the Due Process Clause, requiring adequate notice before the claim can be extinguished.
Yes. An intangible encompasses any incorporeal asset such as a cause of action or contract right. Primary authorities confirm that such interests qualify as property even without physical embodiment.
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Yes. A board may authorize shares for any tangible or intangible property or benefit to the corporation, including services performed or contracts for future services, provided the board determines the consideration adequate.
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Work-product protection extends to the intangible equivalent of tangible material prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial. Digital files or notes summarizing interviews therefore receive the same protection as physical documents.
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…the Court, in requiring that a Negro admitted to a white graduate school be treated like all other students, again resorted to intangible considerations: "... his ability to study, to engage in discussions and exchange views with other students, and, in general, to learn his profession." Such considerations apply with added…