The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has filed a lawsuit against Whitney Houston's
estate to block the sale of her Emmy statuette. The organization claims
the singer didn't own the trophy because it's a loan, not a gift, to
the honoree. They are now trying to retain its ownership through the
court.
The late singer won the Emmy in 1986 for Outstanding
Individual
Performance in a Variety or Musical, thanks to her Grammy performance
of "Saving All My Love for You". The statuette is currently listed on
Heritage Auctions'
website and will go under the hammer on June 24 with a starting bid of $10,000.
"When the Television Academy honors an artist for an achievement, it
lends a copy of the Emmy Statuette to the artist to signify and
symbolize the honor," the Academy explained. When an honoree dies, the
artist's heirs and successors are allowed "to retain custody of copies
to symbolize the achievements of the deceased honoree."
However, the organization continued, "The Television Academy has never
intended that the Emmy Statuette copies be treated as articles of trade.
The original statuette is registered under the copyright laws as an
'unpublished' work of art: copies of the statuette are not, and never
have been, offered for sale or given to the general public."
In response, Heritage Auctions president Greg Rohan told TheWrap, "The
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences claims that at the time Ms.
Houston received that Emmy statuette she signed an agreement that it
would not be sold. We have asked the Academy multiple times to produce
that signed agreement but still have not received it."
"Why is the Academy now demanding return of Houston's Emmy when they did
not stop over three dozen earlier public auctions of Emmy awards the
past decade? Based on their behavior thus far, we think the Academy is
simply trying to bully the Houston family, and we're going to stand up
for our consignor, regardless of the cost," Rohan added. "In addition,
Heritage Auctions will donate our entire commission earned on the sale
of the Emmy to a charity of the Houston family's choice."
Aside from attempting to prevent the auction, the Television Academy is suing for
copyright infringement and seeking unspecified damages.
