Valuating copyrights as fundamental elements of corporate identity

Corporate identity is one of the fundamental factors which determine the market value of a firm. The importance of a correct dealing with a firm’s copyrights is increasing. For many companies, the intangible assets are even more important that the tangible ones. This article provides a survey of methods which can be used in valuating corporate identity as a financial asset. In the first part, we deal with corporate identity and factors which influence it nowadays. In the second part, we describe classical methods of intangible assets valuation and factors which determine the choice of the right method. In the third part, we discuss alternative methods of valuation developed by the CONSOR company. The last part of the article is devoted to other alternative methods, which can’t be classified as classical methods. In practice, classical methods (cost, income and market) are still most frequently used. In valuating elements of corporate identity, income valuation methods are considered to be used as primary methods and these should be compared against market methods. Alternative methods are often commercial and publicly non-available, such as VALMATRIX, or they have a rather theoretical importance. However, some of them have been successfully used in practice, such as the VALCALC or BVEQ methods.