Intangible Assets, net

The Company's intangible assets consist of the following for the periods indicated:



(In millions)	Technology and Patents			Customer Relationships and Other Intangibles			Trademarks and Trade Names			Total
Balance as of September 30, 2019
Finite-lived intangible assets:
Cost	$	960		$	2,154		$	42		$	3,156
Accumulated amortization	(308		)	(279		)	(11		)	(598		)
Finite-lived intangible assets, net	652			1,875			31			2,558

Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Cost	2			—			333			335
Accumulated impairment	(2		)	—			—			(2		)
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, net	—			—			333			$	333
Intangible assets, net	$	652		$	1,875		$	364		$	2,891

Balance as of September 30, 2018
Finite-lived intangible assets:
Cost	$	959		$	2,157		$	43		$	3,159
Accumulated amortization	(135		)	(124		)	(3		)	(262		)
Finite-lived intangible assets, net	824			2,033			40			2,897
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	5			—			332			337
Intangible assets, net	$	829		$	2,033		$	372		$	3,234

Intangible assets include technology and patents, customer relationships, and trademarks and trade names. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated economic lives of the assets. Intangible assets with finite lives are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Intangible assets determined to have indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested for impairment annually and more frequently if events occur or circumstances change that indicate an asset may be impaired.

The impairment test of indefinite-lived intangible assets, of which the Avaya Trade Name represented the full $333 million carrying value as of September 30, 2019, consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset with its carrying value. If the carrying value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its estimated fair value, the Company recognizes an impairment loss equal to the amount of the excess. Management estimates the fair value of the Avaya Trade Name using the relief-from-royalty model, a form of the income approach. Under this methodology, the fair value of the trade name is estimated by applying a royalty rate to forecasted net revenues which is then discounted using a risk-adjusted rate of return on capital. Revenue growth rates inherent in the forecast are based on input from internal and external market intelligence research sources that compare factors such as growth in global economies, regional trends in the telecommunications industry and product evolution from a technological segment basis. The royalty rate is determined using a set of observed market royalty rates.

Amortizable technology and patents have useful lives that range between 1 year and 10 years with a weighted average remaining useful life of 4.2 years. IPR&D activities are considered indefinite-lived until projects are completed or abandoned. Customer relationships have useful lives that range between 1 year and 19 years with a weighted average remaining useful life of 13.1 years. Amortizable product trade names have useful lives of 10 years with a weighted average remaining useful life of 7.6 years. The Avaya trade name is expected to generate cash flows indefinitely and, consequently, this asset is classified as an indefinite-lived intangible and is therefore not amortized.

Amortization expense for fiscal 2019 (Successor), the period from December 16, 2017 through September 30, 2018 (Successor), the period from October 1, 2017 through December 15, 2017 (Predecessor) and fiscal 2017 (Predecessor), was $336 million, $262 million, $13 million and $224 million, respectively.

Future amortization expense of intangible assets as of September 30, 2019 for the fiscal years ending September 30, is as follows:



(In millions)
2020	$	335
2021	331
2022	304
2023	287
2024 and thereafter	1,301
Total	$	2,558

Fiscal 2019 (Successor)

During fiscal 2019, the Company elected to abandon an in-process research and development project acquired with Spoken (see Note 7) since it no longer aligned with the Company’s technology roadmap. As a result, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $2 million to write down the full carrying amount within the Impairment charges line item in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

As a result of the goodwill triggering events (see Note 8), the Company performed a recoverability test on all of its finite-lived asset groups as of June 30, 2019 before proceeding to the goodwill impairment review and concluded that no impairment charge was necessary. The recoverability test of finite-lived assets was based on forecasts of undiscounted cash flows for each asset group. The Company also performed an interim quantitative impairment test for its indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Avaya Trade Name, as of June 30, 2019 and determined that its estimated fair value exceeded its carrying value and no impairment existed.

At July 1, 2019, the Company performed its annual impairment test of its indefinite-lived intangible asset, the Avaya Trade Name, and determined that the estimated fair value of the trade name exceeded its carrying amount by more than 10% and no impairment existed. The Company assessed whether there were any triggering events that would indicate a potential impairment of its finite-lived intangible assets and did not identify any such triggering events or impairment indicators.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company closely monitored the key variables and other market factors for the Avaya Trade Name and determined that an interim impairment test was not required. To the extent that business conditions deteriorate further or if changes in key assumptions and estimates differ significantly from management’s expectations, it may be necessary to record additional impairment charges in the future.

The Period from December 16, 2017 through September 30, 2018 (Successor) and the Period from October 1, 2017 through December 15, 2017 (Predecessor)

At July 1, 2018, the Company performed its annual impairment test of indefinite-lived intangible assets. The Company determined that the respective carrying amounts of the indefinite-lived intangible assets did not exceed their estimated fair values and therefore no impairment existed.

Fiscal 2017 (Predecessor)

Prior to the goodwill impairment testing on June 30, 2017, the Company performed an impairment test of indefinite-lived intangible assets and other long-lived assets as of June 30, 2017. As a result of the impairment test, the Company estimated the fair value of its trademarks and trade names to be $190 million as compared to a carrying amount of $255 million and recorded an impairment charge of $65 million.

At July 1, 2017, the Company performed its annual test of impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets. The Company determined that the respective carrying amounts of the indefinite-lived intangible assets did not exceed their estimated fair values and therefore no impairment existed.