what is a royalty?

 A royalty is a payment made by one party (the licensee) to another party (the licensor) for the use of intellectual property or natural resources. It is a fee that is paid for the right to use something, typically a patented technology, copyrighted material, or natural resources such as oil or minerals.

For example, a company might pay a royalty to a patent holder for the right to use a patented technology in its products. A songwriter might receive a royalty each time a song they wrote is played on the radio or streamed online. And a company might pay a royalty to a government for the right to extract and sell minerals from a specific area.

Royalties are often expressed as a percentage of sales or revenue generated from the use of the property or resource. The percentage can vary depending on the type of property, the length of the agreement, and other factors.