INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

The Company’s intangible assets consist of the following (in thousands):



	September 30, 2012							December 31, 2011
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Net Carrying Amount		Amortization Period	Weighted Average Useful Life
Supply and distribution agreements	$	264,407	$	(114,818	)	$	149,589	$	260,288	$	(97,114	)	$	163,174	10 - 13 years	12 years

Technology	22,899		(22,769		)	130		22,982		(22,708		)	274		3 years	3 years

Patents	1,638		(1,434		)	204		1,638		(1,399		)	239		15 years	15 years

Customer lists	20,168		(20,168		)	—		19,923		(19,150		)	773		2 years	2 years

Internet domain names	18,637		(2,774		)	15,863		5,215		(625		)	4,590		2 - 20 years	7 years

Trade names	53,185		(26,488		)	26,697		52,272		(21,192		)	31,080		5 - 20 years	11 years

Other	326		(321		)	5		345		(324		)	21		3 - 10 years	4 years
Total intangible assets	$	381,260	$	(188,772	)	$	192,488	$	362,663	$	(162,512	)	$	200,151

Intangible assets with determinable lives are primarily amortized on a straight-line basis. Intangible asset amortization expense was approximately $7.8 million and $8.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and $24.2 million and $25.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

The estimated amortization expense for intangible assets for the remainder of 2012, the annual expense for the next five years, and the expense thereafter is expected to be as follows (in thousands):



2012	$	7,962
2013	31,547
2014	31,460
2015	28,643
2016	25,977
2017	22,228
Thereafter	44,671
	$	192,488

The change in goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 consists of the following (in thousands):



Balance at December 31, 2011	$	504,784
Acquisition	4,462
Currency translation adjustments	8,475
Balance at September 30, 2012	$	517,721

A substantial majority of the Company’s goodwill relates to the acquisition of Booking.com. During the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company performed its annual goodwill impairment testing and concluded that the estimated fair value for Booking.com, as well as the Company's other reporting units, substantially exceeds their respective carrying values.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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