All About Royalties

Perspective in a limited area of law presupposes a breadth of background in the historical, procedural, and substantive aspects that are germane. A compendium of materials of recorddecisions, statutes, administrative actionsis a necessary tool in the evaluation and understanding of the law at a particular point in time. It is useful in the projection of trends, in the isolation of problems, and in the formulation of solutions or of protective measures. Numerous and extensive treatises make this information readily available.1

As materials proliferate, however, the task of enumeration, digestion, and correlation becomes more difficult. The thread of continuity or the emergence of a new strain may not be evident. Perspective may be enhanced under these circumstances with a synthesis of materials reported in greater depth elsewhere and with a delineation of the parameters that have been established. This does not presuppose that the law relating to royalties is uniformeither in content or among jurisdictions. Differences in minerals and in the laws of the states contribute to differences in result. But there is a unifying factora hard corewhich provides a stability of concept and a basis for evaluation of the divergence that exists. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a synthesis, not a [228] detailed analysis. Limitations of space preclude extensive documentation