Perpetual Royalties
ownership, legacy, access control, sovereignty
Perpetual Royalties are ongoing revenue shares embedded into smart contracts that continue indefinitely, ensuring creators or rights holders receive income every time a digital asset is used, resold, or accessed. Unlike traditional royalties that rely on legal agreements and may expire or require manual renewal, perpetual royalties are hard-coded into blockchain logic and can operate across generations. These systems form the foundation of sustainable creator income and autonomous inheritance in Web3 ecosystems.
Use Case: A musician releases a song as a tokenized asset, with a 7% perpetual royalty built into the contract. Every time the token changes hands on a secondary market or is streamed through a compatible dApp, the royalty is instantly sent to the artistÔÇÖs walletÔÇöregardless of platform, time, or country.
Key Concepts:
- NFT Royalties ÔÇö Revenue embedded in token resale activity.
- Programmable Royalties ÔÇö Smart contract logic for enforcing payouts.
- Perpetual Income ÔÇö Royalties or yield that never expire.
- Tokenized IP ÔÇö Intellectual property encoded as blockchain assets.
Summary: Perpetual Royalties allow creators to earn forever from their work, without renegotiation or centralized oversight. They enforce revenue logic across platforms, decades, and jurisdictionsÔÇöturning art, code, and content into income-bearing digital legacies.
| Feature | Traditional Royalties | Perpetual Royalties |
|---|---|---|
| Expiration | Ends after contract term or rights period | Never expires ÔÇö hard-coded into asset |
| Distribution | Processed by labels, publishers, or agencies | Direct-to-wallet via smart contracts |
| Enforcement | Requires legal action if unpaid | Automatically enforced on-chain |
| Cross-Platform Reach | Limited to specific channels or publishers | Global, across any dApp or protocol that honors the logic |