RoyaltySource®

Includes royalty-bearing agreements covering a wide range of intellectual property types, including patents, trademarks, software, copyrights, trade secrets, and rights of publicity

RoyaltySource®: Intellectual Property Royalty Rate Data

RoyaltySource® provides a subscription-based database of royalty rates sourced from intellectual property license agreements. The platform is used to support valuation, litigation, transfer pricing, and licensing analysis.

Publisher: RoyaltySource®

Detailed Description

RoyaltySource® includes royalty-bearing agreements covering a wide range of intellectual property types, including patents, trademarks, software, copyrights, trade secrets, and rights of publicity. The database also contains franchise agreements and other fee-based contracts such as consulting, services, and commission arrangements. RoyaltySource® applies a two-tier screening process: proprietary pre-screening is followed by manual review by subject matter experts to ensure data accuracy and relevance. The platform is used to support license negotiations, IP valuation, transfer pricing analyses, and the assessment of economic damages in litigation. Reports include detailed information on license terms to facilitate comparability and analysis.

Key Features

35+ years of IP royalty data across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other asset types
Includes franchise agreements and fee-based agreements (consulting, services, commissions)
Two-tier screening process to ensure accuracy and relevance of data
Used in valuation, litigation support, licensing analysis, and transfer pricing
Reports include detailed license terms to support comparability and insights
Utilized by IP attorneys, valuation professionals, and corporate users

Data Source

Source:

1. SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) Filings
The primary source RoyaltySource relies on is publicly filed license agreements within SEC documents, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K (“Material Contracts”) that disclose royalty-bearing agreements. When available, they extract the full text of the material contract to capture the exact royalty terms.

2. Periodicals and Trade Media
RoyaltySource supplements the SEC records with information from newspapers, industry journals, trade publications, and press releases.
Occasionally, if the full legal agreement isn’t directly obtainable, data is noted from references in SEC filings or authoritative media sources. In those cases, the record is flagged as sourced from “Other.”

3. Extensive, Long-Term Coverage
With 35+ years in operation, RoyaltySource has continuously built a database of royalty agreements, keeping it current and expansive.
Their flagship product offers a searchable online database of various contract types—covering technology (patent, know‑how, software), trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and service/consulting agreements.

4. Data Validation & Classification
The database is curated with a two-tier review process, ensuring each entry reports actual royalties (e.g., percentage of sales or revenue)
Metadata is captured for each agreement: license type, exclusivity, territory, royalty base, upfront fees, and other deal terms.

5. Global & Industry-Spanning Content
The platform covers royalty licenses across multiple sectors and geographies, though it heavily relies on publicly filed U.S. agreements.
Annual industry summary reports draw from public-domain licensing data spanning decades and multiple industries, helping users benchmark royalty rates.

Source	Role in the Data Pipeline
SEC Filings (10‑K/10‑Q/8‑K)	Full-text license agreements with royalty terms
Periodicals & Trade Media	Supplementary disclosures when contracts aren’t public
Press Releases	Deal announcements and royalty signals
Long-term archival capture	35+ years of IP licensing data
Two-tier human-curation & tagging	Ensures completeness, accuracy, and structured metadata

Available from: www.royaltysource.com or www.bvresources.com.

RoyaltySource®

RoyaltySource®: Intellectual Property Royalty Rate Data

Key Features

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