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Overview

IP Groups connect contracts that relate to the same intellectual property. When multiple agreements involve the same recordings, compositions, or rights chain, they’re automatically grouped together to give you a complete picture of the rights, obligations, and revenue flow surrounding those assets.
A single contract can belong to multiple IP groups. For example, an Exclusive Recording Agreement (ERA) might be part of several groups - one for each track where collaborators (producers, featured artists, remixers) have their own agreements.

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Core Concepts

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Siblings

Sibling contracts are agreements that share the same IP group because they:
  • Cover the same recordings or compositions
  • Share the same assignee (the party receiving rights)
  • Directly reference or impact each other
Different agreements with various contributors (artist, producer, featured artist) for the same track.
Amendments or addendums that modify an original agreement’s terms.
Agreements linked because one triggers or references commitments in another.
Example IP Groups:
Contracts in this group:
ContractWhy it’s in this group
Artist ERAMain artist agreement covering the track
Producer AgreementProducer hired to produce the track under the ERA
Featured Artist AgreementGuest vocalist on the track
All three contracts relate to the same track. The producer and featured artist were brought in specifically for this recording under the main artist’s deal.
Contracts in this group:
ContractWhy it’s in this group
Artist ERAOriginal artist agreement covering the track
Remix AgreementRemix of the track created by another artist
The remix agreement is a sibling because it creates a derivative work of the same underlying IP - the remix couldn’t exist without the original track.
Contracts in this group:
ContractWhy it’s in this group
Publishing Agreement (2019)Original songwriter agreement
Amendment #1 (2021)Modifies royalty rates for streaming
Amendment #2 (2023)Extends territory to include Asia
The amendments directly modify the original agreement’s terms, so they’re grouped together as siblings.

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IP Origin (Parents)

The parent chain shows where the IP originated - the “umbrella” agreements under which work was created or commissioned.

Exclusive Recording Agreement (ERA)

Covers all recordings an artist makes during the term. Parent to any specific track agreements or collaborator deals.

Exclusive Songwriter Agreement (ESA)

Covers all compositions a writer creates during the term. Parent to co-writer agreements and specific song assignments.
Examples of parent relationships:
An artist clears a sample from another recording. The sample clearance agreement’s parent is the original master owner’s agreement - tracing rights back to the source.
An artist hires a producer for tracks under their recording deal. The producer agreement is a sibling, with the artist’s ERA as the parent umbrella.

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Downstream Licenses (Children)

Child contracts are agreements that derive from or sublicense rights from the current contract. These represent rights flowing downstream from an originating agreement.

Distribution Agreement

A label with master rights grants distribution rights to a distributor.

Territory License

A publisher grants rights to a sub-publisher in another region.

Sync License

A master owner issues a license for use in film, TV, or advertising.
License and distribution agreements are NOT siblings of originating agreements - they’re children. A distribution deal doesn’t create new IP alongside an artist agreement; it exploits rights that were already created.

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The IP Groups View

Each IP Group displays three sections in a visual hierarchy:
SectionDescription
IP OriginContracts this group’s rights derive from
SiblingsContracts in the same group sharing the same IP
Downstream LicensesContracts that sublicense from this group

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Group Header

The header shows:
  • Group name - Named after the shared assignee or a descriptive title
  • Group type - Whether it’s a sibling group or standalone
  • Contract count - Number of siblings in the group
  • Relationship count - Number of IP origin and downstream license connections

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Reasoning

Each group has a Thinking badge that shows the AI’s reasoning for why these contracts were grouped together. Hover over it to see the explanation.

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Revenue Allocation

For sibling groups, the system shows how revenue flows between related contracts.

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Understanding Participation Rates

The participation rate determines what portion of revenue flows to each contract for royalty calculation. This is NOT the same as the royalty rate - it’s the input to the calculation.
When a contract calculates directly from net receipts (e.g., “Artist gets 50% of net receipts”), it receives 100% participation with its own rules. The 50% rate is in the contract’s royalty rules, not the participation.
When a contract takes a share of another contract (e.g., “Featured artist gets 20% of artist share”), it receives 20% participation and inherits rules from the main artist’s contract. The main artist’s participation is reduced to 80%.
When you see multiple contracts each with 100% participation, they each calculate directly from net receipts using their own royalty rules. The actual percentages are defined in each contract’s rules, not split at the allocation level.
Example: Main artist with featured artist
ContractParticipationRulesExplanation
Main Artist ERA80%Own rules (50% of net)Keeps 80% of the pool after featured artist takes their share
Featured Artist20%Inherits from ERAGets 20% of artist share, calculated using same rate structure
The featured artist inherits rules because their contract says “20% of artist share” - their payout is derived from the main artist’s terms. Example: Two direct participants
ContractParticipationRulesExplanation
Artist A Agreement100%Own rules (30% of net)Calculates directly from net receipts
Artist B Agreement100%Own rules (20% of net)Calculates directly from net receipts
Both show 100% because each contract has its own rate defined. The 30% and 20% are in their respective royalty rules - no split happens at the allocation level.

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Rule Inheritance

The “Rules” column shows whether a contract uses its own royalty terms or inherits from another:
  • Own rules - This contract defines its own royalty calculation
  • from #123 - This contract uses the same rules as contract #123
Inheritance typically occurs when one contract’s share is defined relative to another (e.g., “X% of artist royalty”).

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Beneficiaries

When a contract represents multiple parties, beneficiaries show how that contract’s revenue is further split:
ContractParticipationBeneficiaries
Artist ERA (#501)80%Artist A (75%), Artist B (25%)
Producer (#502)20%Producer (100%)
The beneficiaries within contract #501 split the 80% among themselves. This is common when explicit splits are defined in the contract.

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How Groups Are Created

IP Groups are created automatically through different types of relationship detection:
Groups update automatically as you upload new contracts that relate to existing ones.

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Best Practices

Check the “Thinking” badge to understand why contracts were grouped. This helps validate that the AI correctly identified relationships.
When analyzing deal economics, start with the allocation view to understand which contracts handle which revenue streams.
Remember that umbrella agreements (like ERAs) can appear in multiple groups. Review all groups an agreement belongs to for the complete picture.

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How This Relates to Agreement Timeline and IP History

Royaltyport offers three different views of contracts and agreements over time; they answer different questions:
FeatureWhat it showsWhere
Agreement TimelineChronological agreement history per CRM party (entity, artist, writer). “What agreements has this label/artist/writer had over time?”CRM → Entity, Artist, or Writer → Timeline tab
IP Groups (this page)Contracts grouped by shared IP (same recordings, compositions, rights chain). Parent/child and sibling relationships. “Which contracts touch this asset and how do they relate?”Contracts → IP Groups; or contract detail → IP Groups tab
IP HistoryChronological view of how rights to a specific piece of IP (recording, composition) have changed hands over time. “Who has owned or controlled this asset and when?”Contracts → IP History (coming soon)
Use IP Groups to see which contracts share the same IP. Use the Agreement Timeline for a party-centric deal history. Use IP History for a chronological view of how ownership and rights to specific assets have changed.

Agreement Timeline

Agreement history per entity, artist, or writer.

IP History

Track how rights to specific IP have changed over time.