In acknowledgement of the nation's broader shift toward a knowledge-based economy, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis categorized intellectual property products as fixed investments - as opposed to capital expenses - for the first time last month.
--- # [](https://www.innovation-asset.com/) - [Decipher®](https://www.innovation-asset.com/products-decipher) - [Services](https://www.innovation-asset.com/products/professional-services-0) - [Resources](https://www.innovation-asset.com/resources) - [Blog](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog) - [About Us](https://www.innovation-asset.com/about) - [Contact Us](https://www.innovation-asset.com/contact) # Innovation Asset Blog # Intellectual assets reclassified as fixed investments in latest GDP calculations by [Peter Ackerman](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/author/peter-ackerman) Since its introduction to the U.S. Senate floor in 1934, gross domestic product has been one of the most trusted measurements of a nation's macroeconomic health. Yet as the business models which populate the country's economy have expanded and evolved in the interceding 80 years, critics have started to question the validity of the metric. In acknowledgement of the nation's broader shift toward a knowledge-based economy, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis categorized intellectual property products as fixed investments - as opposed to capital expenses - [for the first time](http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2013/gdp2q13_adv.htm) last month. Such "products" consist of research and development funding, invention royalties and proprietary software. McKinsey & Company consulting executives Jacques Bughin and James Manyika attempted to [contextualize this encouraging development](http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/measuring_the_full_impact_of_digital_capital) via e-commerce examples. "Amazon.com's development of an internal search process that promotes recurring sales or the efforts of Netflix to fine-tune personal recommendations to increase video viewing and retain customers are certainly more than expenses," the pair wrote for the consultancy's quarterly publication. "Such capabilities, which are complex to build and replicate, can often help companies create enduring competitive strengths." As The Wall Street Journal noted, the statistical revisions [added nearly $560 billion](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323997004578640072540073326.html) to the U.S.'s 2012 GDP. While some may consider these adjustments a cynical attempt to paint a rosier economic outlook, most experts insist that this metric modernization was a long-overdue reinforcement to the measurement's relevance.  ### [Peter Ackerman](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/author/peter-ackerman) Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc. [August 02, 2013](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/intellectual-assets-reclassified-as-fixed-investments-in-latest-gdp-calculations) ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Introducing Decipher® ### Categories - [Intellectual Property Management (459)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/intellectual-property-management) - [Commercialization and Licensing (210)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/commercialization-and-licensing) - [Invention Disclosure (201)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/invention-disclosure) - [Innovation Strategy (20)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/innovation-strategy) - [Ideas for Good (6)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/ideas-for-good) - [Innovation Team (3)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/topic/innovation-team) ### News Archives - [January 2013 (26)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2013/01) - [September 2012 (25)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/09) - [October 2012 (22)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/10) - [November 2012 (22)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/11) - [November 2010 (21)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2010/11) - [February 2011 (21)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2011/02) - [July 2012 (21)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/07) - [December 2012 (21)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/12) - [January 2012 (20)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/01) - [March 2012 (20)](https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/archive/2012/03) ##### Portland, Oregon USA ##### © Innovation Asset Group, Inc. ##### [Privacy Policy](https://www.innovation-asset.com/privacy-policy/) | [Terms & Conditions](https://www.innovation-asset.com/terms-and-conditions/) | [Contact Us](https://www.innovation-asset.com/contact/) -