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ATAS, NATAS Spat Deepens

Mar 27, 2007  •  Post A Comment

A judge recommended Tuesday afternoon that the temporary injunction filed by the Los-Angeles based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences against the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences be handed to an arbitrator to handle the matter. The injunction was filed over the expansion of the Emmy Awards by the NATAS for broadband content.

“The judge has not ruled on the merits of the case, instead he has recommended that this would be best resolved in the hands of an arbitrator,” said a spokesperson for the ATAS in a statement. “The Television Academy is optimistic that this matter will be resolved fairly and quickly.”

ATAS petitioned for a temporary injunction Thursday in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division, aiming to prevent the NATAS from awarding Emmys for digital content, particularly in a new partnership with MySpace. Under a 1977 agreement, NATAS administers only the Daytime, Sports and News and Documentary Emmys.

NATAS followed Monday with a companion filing.

(Editor: Romanelli)