Support transfer pricing and IP valuation analysis using the highest-quality royalty rates and service fees agreements benchmarking data and analytics.
Royalty Rates Database, License and Service Agreements
RoyaltyStat: Royalty Rates Database and Benchmarking Analytics Software (Platform)
More Reliable and Efficient Royalty Rate Benchmarking
High-quality royalty rates data (no duplicates), intuitive search, and advanced analytics for transfer pricing and IP valuation analysis.
RoyaltyStat® is the first-to-market online database of license and service agreements, serving transfer pricing, finance, and intellectual property professionals for over 26 years. The royalty rates database is recognized for its high-quality data, royalty rate analytics tools, and knowledge-based customer support, and is used by top accounting and law firms, Fortune 500 multinationals and tax authorities worldwide.
How It’s Used?
- Benchmark royalty rates for transfer pricing and IP valuation analysis
- Identify market comparable license agreements
- Perform advanced research for transfer pricing controversy and IP litigation support
A Royalty Rates Database That Works for You
Accelerate Research Reduce Risk Gain Valuable Insights 
Accelerate Research More Efficient Transfer Pricing Benchmarking
RoyaltyStat’s rigorous data curation and extraction enables quicker comparability analysis by leveraging succinct descriptions of each agreement and detailed notes on payment structures and contractual terms.
Reduce Risk Accurate and Reliable Royalty Rates Data
RoyaltyStat’s experienced data production team employs a multi-layered data extraction and quality-control process to ensure data accuracy and removal of duplicates. The license agreement database also provides integrated access to full-text agreements and supporting source documents, such as SEC Filings and Franchise Disclosure Documents, to enable additional diligence. Our data is trusted by government agencies, prestigious universities, and professional services organizations around the world.
Gain Valuable Insights Advanced Data Analytics for Transfer Pricing and Intangible Asset Valuation Analysis
RoyaltyStat’s unique analytics go beyond a simple interquartile range to help our users dig deeper into the economics of the valuation of intangible assets and support their analyses under scrutiny. Our tools include boxplot statistics, histogram and regression analysis to observe the effects of contractual terms on royalty rates, analyze data distribution, and determine a more reliable arm’s-length range.
Average Royalty Rates by Industry: Insights (and Why Benchmarking Still Matters)
Industry royalty rate statistics are useful as a starting reference, but they should not be treated as a reliable benchmark on their own. Royalty rates vary widely based on the type of intangible, deal terms, and the value each party contributes, so benchmarking against comparable agreements is still essential. The table below shows median vs. average rates to highlight how much rates can differ even within the same category.
Median vs. Average Royalty Rates by Industry and Intangible Asset Class
| Industry Sector | Technology-Based Intangibles (patents, know-how, trade secrets, software, etc.) | Marketing & Creative Intangibles (trademarks and copyrights) |
|---|---|---|
| Software & SaaS | 10%, 19.3% | 10%, 19.4% |
| Consumer Products | 6%, 7.5% | 6%, 7.3% |
| Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences | 5%, 8.3% | 8%, 11.9% |
| Industrial Equipment | 5%, 6.6% | 6%, 8.3% |
| Media & Entertainment | 7%, 12.9% | 7%, 12.9% |
| Technology Hardware | 5%, 9.7% | 6%, 9.5% |
| Chemicals & Materials | 5%, 6.5% | 6%, 7.5% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Benchmarking royalty rates in transfer pricing under the US Sec. 482 TP regulations and OECD guidelines requires searching for and selecting comparable (sufficiently similar) agreements to determine an arm’s length range of royalty rates.
The cost of replacement (royalty rate to in-license), strength of protection, discount rate, projected revenue and profit potential.
Identify comparable 3rd-party transactions and use statistical analysis to calculate a range of reasonable royalty rates. In IP infringement litigation, comparability is governed by the Georgia Pacific Factors.
A royalty rate benchmarking tool is a database of 3rd-party license agreements with disclosed royalty rates (based on ongoing sales). It is used to search for and identify comparable transactions and calculate a range of reasonable or arm’s length royalty rates based on the royalty rates in the comparable transactions. This is often expressed as the interquartile range.
Contractual terms may influence royalty rates in license agreements. However this is a hypothesis that must be tested using market transaction data (3rd-party license agreements) to determine whether contractual differences have a material effect on the royalty rate or value of the transaction.
