Clark's co. wins Globes legal battle

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 30 (UPI) -- Dick Clark Productions says it has won its legal battle with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and will keep producing the Golden Globe Awards.

The HFPA presents the Globes, which honor its choices as the year's best in film and television.

"We are pleased the court affirmed our contract and look forward to working with the HFPA and NBC to nurture and expand the Golden Globes franchise for years to come," Mark Shapiro, chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, said in a statement Monday.

The HFPA sued the company in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, saying the producers violated their contract because they did not have the association's permission to strike a $150 million deal in 2010 to keep the show on NBC through 2018.

The Los Angeles Times said a spokesman for the HFPA and the association's legal counsel did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.

Producer and TV personality Dick Clark died nearly two weeks ago after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 82.