Forking & Royalties
How the fork system and royalty chain work
This guide implements Charter Article 4.3 (The Right to Own). See the Economic Framework Section 7.3 (The Fork Royalty Chain). Read the Charter · Read the Economic Framework
Forking
Any published app on Panoply can be forked — copied, modified, and republished as a new app. Forking is encouraged. It's how ideas evolve.
When you fork an app, the original creator automatically receives a 10% royalty on every sale of your forked version.
The Royalty Chain
Royalties cascade through generations of forks:
| Layer | Share | Example ($100 sale, base tier) |
|---|---|---|
| Original Creator (royalty) | 10% of sale | $10.00 |
| Fork Creator | 80% minus royalties | $70.00 |
| Platform | 20% | $20.00 |
For second-generation forks: the original creator gets 10%, the first fork creator gets 5%, and the second fork creator gets the remainder.
How Royalties Flow
- Royalties come out of the fork creator's share (80–90%) — not the platform's
- They're calculated and distributed automatically
- The original creator receives royalties in their wallet with no action required
- Royalty relationships are permanent and transparent
Forking an App
- Open any app on the marketplace
- Click Fork on the detail page
- The app opens in the builder with the original source
- Make your modifications
- Publish as a new app — the royalty link is set automatically