Research and development costs

a. are classified as intangible assets.
b. must be expensed when incurred under generally accepted accounting principles.
c. should be included in the cost of the patent they relate to.
d. are capitalized and then amortized over a period not to exceed 40 years.

B. Must be expensed when incurred under generally accepted accounting principles.

Explanation:

During financial and economics studies, research and development is explained to be a systematic activity that combines basic and applied research in an attempt to discover solutions to problems or to create or update goods and services. When a company conducts its own R&D, it often results in the ownership of intellectual property in the form of patents or copyrights.

A component of a company's research and development thy plays a key role is its R&D expenses; this could be relatively minor or can easily run into billions of dollars for large corporations. Companies in the industrial, technological, health care, and pharmaceutical sectors usually have the highest levels of R&D expenses.