intangible assets

Some examples of intangible assets include copyrights, patents, goodwill, trade names, trademarks, mail lists, etc. These assets will be reported at cost (or lower) on the balance sheet after property, plant and equipment. Trade names and trademarks that were developed by a company (as opposed to buying them from another company at a significant cost) may not appear on the balance sheet, even though they might be a company's most valuable asset.