Royalties are payments made by one party (the licensee) to another (the licensor) for the use of an asset owned by the licensor. In most cases royalties are periodic payments made for the continual use of an asset. The amount of a royalties payment depends on how the two parties have agreed to calculate the royalties owed. These methods vary greatly depending on the type of asset being licensed, but the most common method is to pay royalties as a percentage of the sales derived from the use of the licensed asset.