Inheritance in Gramo
Introduction
Heirs must decide whether the estate of a deceased artist, musician or other performing artist (referred to below as the performer) is to be settled by private administration (privat skifte) or public administration (offentlig skifte).
Contact a lawyer if you need help settling the estate of a deceased performer.
Rights relating to Gramo after a performer's death
Section 75 of the Norwegian Copyright Act governs how copyright passes on when an author dies. Under this provision, only copyright is inherited directly. This means that inheritance of the right to remuneration that applies to performers who take part in a sound recording, under section 21 of the Copyright Act (the area Gramo manages), is governed by the Norwegian Inheritance Act (in Norwegian).
In this context, the right to remuneration is a question of who should receive the money after the performer's death.
Two stages
Settling the inheritance of the right to remuneration after a deceased performer involves two stages:
- Payment of remuneration already earned to the estate, which is a separate legal entity.
- Payment of future remuneration after the estate has been settled and has ceased to exist as a legal entity.
Private administration of a performer's estate (the most common)
Remuneration already earned:
Gramo requires a probate certificate (skifteattest).
Anyone who wants remuneration already earned to be paid to the deceased performer's estate must present a probate certificate. What this involves is set out in section 118 of the Inheritance Act (in Norwegian).
The probate certificate shows who has the authority to dispose of the deceased performer's assets (including remuneration already earned from Gramo) and to bind the estate.
If the probate certificate shows that more than one person can dispose of the estate (several heirs or guardians), they must appoint one representative to deal with Gramo on their behalf (so that Gramo does not have to deal with several people).
Note: Gramo will under no circumstances pay out remuneration already earned after a deceased performer unless a probate certificate is presented.
Future remuneration:
Sole heir
In a private administration, the sole heir distributes the estate themselves, based on the rules of the Inheritance Act and the contents of any will.
The sole heir informs Gramo in writing who is to receive future remuneration after the deceased performer.
Several heirs
The heirs must agree on how the estate is to be distributed (utlodning), based on the rules of the Inheritance Act and the contents of any will.
All the heirs inform Gramo in writing who is to receive future remuneration after the deceased performer.
Membership of Gramo
Heirs who receive remuneration (money) from the deceased performer's right to remuneration have the right to become members of Gramo, under the Collective Management Act (in Norwegian).