Royalty stream

A series of contractual payments for the use of licensed rights, such as a trademark, patent, or copyrighted work. Payments may depend on sales or usage and can vary over time.

Royalty stream in practice

Hypothetical: a brand owner licenses a franchise system and receives a percentage of each franchisee’s sales under the contract. Franchisees fund their own sites, reducing the brand owner’s site investment. The brand owner still incurs costs for support, systems, enforcement, and other contractual duties.

Reference

Licensing reference: WIPO: IP Assignment and Licensing. The franchise example is hypothetical.

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