Measuring intangible value

An interesting article by Denise Caruso on the New York Times summarizes one of the most important issues facing companies today: how to value intangible assets, a category that comprises patents, copyrights, brands, business models, reputation, goodwill, organization, etc.?

Think of banks lending to companies with no fixed assets like real estate, equipment, etc.: traditionally companies would have used assets as collateral to gain access to loans, especially medium to long term credit. What can they offer today? And how can banks gauge the risk and hedge their bets? There are a number of techniques, ranging for insurance to valuation, that are being developed but which are still playing in a niche. Let us hope that things evolve rapidly so as to improve funding for "new economy" firms.