In April 2001 the International Accounting Standards Board (Board) adopted IAS 38 Intangible Assets, which had originally been issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee in September 1998. That Standard had replaced IAS 9 Research and Development Costs, which had been issued in 1993, which itself replaced an earlier version called Accounting for Research and Development Activities that had been issued in July 1978.
The Board revised IAS 38 in March 2004 as part of the first phase of its Business Combinations project. In January 2008 the Board amended IAS 38 again as part of the second phase of its Business Combinations project.
In May 2014 the Board amended IAS 38 to clarify when the use of a revenue‑based amortisation method is appropriate.
Other Standards have made minor consequential amendments to IAS 38. They include IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements (issued May 2011), IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements (issued May 2011), IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement (issued May 2011), Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2010–2012 Cycle (issued December 2013), IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (issued May 2014), IFRS 16 Leases (issued January 2016), IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts (issued May 2017), Amendments to References to the Conceptual Framework in IFRS Standards (issued March 2018) and Amendments to IFRS 17 (issued June 2020).