Main Reason BAL Is Cactus!, page-47

Using your examples:
1) Taylor Swift could easily borrow against her back catalogue of songs that generate revenue on iTunes.

Copyright asserted and protected. Further protection from a performing artists perspective. Trademarks and images are also owned. Therefore, content and brand control equally asserted and maintained.

2) Disney could easily borrow against their library of films they have made, or even just the concept of Micky mouse.

As above. But equally, trademarks and other IP rights asserted in relation to product, ownership of images, etc. Some technology /solutions also asserted as registered designs and /or (even) as patents - particularly with CGI, etc. Control of domains and all domain variants in all /most jurisdictions is seen as important here, too, although the regulatory regime now in place increasingly has stopped green-mailing and diverted traffic (offsetting) sites from being established or maintained. Indeed, in one Chinese decision last week, the domain holder was stripped of their domain control because, among several other things, they also couldn't demonstrate that they manufactured, sold or marketed products referable to the domain interest being maintained. This was a decision which (prior to the decision being made had adversely) impacted on TWE and its ability to sell its premium wine brands into China. The decision brought to them control over not only the English language brands but also their localised Chinese versions.

3) Coca Cola could lend against the value of its brand.

Asserted as copyright, trademarks and as patents /inventions /formulas.

4) Sydney Airports can lend against its 80 year lease on the property.

Monopoly control of the airspace asserted, even with Badgerys Creek. Sydney Airports has first right of refusal here, etc.

5) All sorts of licensing deals and intellectual property and patents can be used as collateral for loans.

Yes, provided that there is some method of registered or proprietary ownership in place, some form of exclusivity involved, or in monopoly rights granted, etc. Even with copyright, the level of co-ordinated control globally is increasingly ramping up. You can see this in virtually every book that is sold today. You can also see it in how most authors now also register, control and market themselves as their own brands /forms of intellectual property (ie: above and beyond the books that they write, the music that they either pen, or even sing, although the author here keeps on ringing up the royalties, and the actor who acts out their roles, etc). But, some more on Taylor Swift. She both sings, as well as writes most /all of her own songs, so even when they are covered by others, the royalties continue to flow back through to her.

Having such measures of asserted, registered, managed or controlled /monopoly rights or assets in place all translates to having exclusive possession of certain rights (etc) which cannot be accessed, used or copied by others without first either buying the items in question, paying for the rights to access, or in paying a royalty stream. In many ways (albeit constructed quite differently) it reflects the hi-tech form of real property (except that it is controlled /managed intellectual property). Only trouble with this however is that some countries (notably China) are continually being challenged regarding their blatant breaches of the IP rights of others, etc. Witness, for example, LEGO's current counterfeit fight with the Chinese clone brand, Lepin, etc.

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So, having soft assets is not necessarily a negative as long as it can be associated with some measure of controlled /asserted intellectual property (ie: copyright, design, domain, trademark, patent, monopoly right, exclusive rights to territory, etc). But absent these, then the strength and character of any intangible assets held will often depend upon one's ability to (*) hold an edge in the market, (*) control the process involved, (*) exclude, limit or impede access by others (ie: first mover advantage, (*) have and maintain a strong reputation in place, (*) efficiently and effectively manage, assert or profit from the market including when any changes suddenly occur, impact, impede or present, etc.