What is a Royalty?

Aroyalty is a legally binding payment made to an individual or company for the ongoing use of their assets, including copyrighted works, franchises, and natural resources. An example of royalties would be payments received by musicians when their original songs are played on the radio or television, used in movies, performed at concerts, bars, and restaurants, or consumed via streaming services. In most cases, royalties are revenue generators specifically designed to compensate the owners of songs or property when they license out their assets for another party's use.

Royalty payments typically constitute a percentage of the gross or net revenues obtained from the use of property. However, they can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the wishes of both parties involved in the transaction.

An inventor or original owner may choose to sell their product to a third party in exchange for royalties from the future revenues the product may generate. For example, computer manufacturers pay Microsoft Corporation royalties for the right to use its Windows operating system in the computers they manufacture.

Payment may be nonrenewable resource royalties, patent royalties, trademark royalties, franchises, copyrighted materials, book publishing royalties, music royalties, and art royalties. Well-known fashion designers can charge royalties to other companies for the use of their names and designs. Third parties pay authors, musical artists, and production professionals for the use of their produced, copyrighted material. Television satellite companies provide royalty payments to air the most viewed stations nationwide. In the oil and gas sectors, companies provide royalties to landowners for permission to extract natural resources from the landowners' covered property. Royalty agreements should benefit both the licensor (the person receiving the royalty) and the licensee (the person paying the royalty). For the licensor, a royalty agreement to allow another company to use its product can allow them access to a new market.

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