Semantic Substrate

What is Royalty?

RoyaltyA recurring economic claim on the use of an asset or model, earning value from adoption rather than a single sale.

Royalty is the primitive that answers who gets paid when this is used? As models and assets are reused by agents, the right to a share of that use becomes its own position.

It is the layer that turns usage into ongoing value. A royalty ties compensation to activity, so the owner earns from adoption rather than one transaction.

Where royalty sits in the stack

In the four-layer architecture of the agentic web, royalty is a Cross-cutting concept — it applies across every layer of the stack. See the thesis for how the layers compound.

Royalty in the portfolio

17 positions in the Semantic Substrate portfolio carry the Royalty primitive5 available individually, 12 held as a coordinated set. Explore the Royalty cluster →

Quick answers

What is Royalty in agentic systems?
A recurring economic claim on the use of an asset or model, earning value from adoption rather than a single sale.
Where does Royalty sit in the agentic stack?
Royalty sits at the Cross-cutting layer — it applies across every layer of the stack.
How many Royalty domain positions exist in the Semantic Substrate portfolio?
17 positions carry the Royalty primitive — 5 available individually, the rest held as a coordinated set.

Related primitives

Held in the portfolio under Royalty.