8. The future income method

This valuation is based on an estimate of operating income rather than gross margin, and does not take into account all the administrative, marketing, sales and R&D costs required to bring the product to market, which would lead to an overestimation of the value of the intangible asset concerned.

A valuation based on pre-tax income, which includes financial and exceptional income/losses, would also be inappropriate, as these parameters are not directly linked to the intangible asset and could lead to it being undervalued, if, for example, the company has a very high level of debt.