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The boxes are similar.  The watch designs have long been known to be similar to other watches, such as all the His Excellencies.  If you've got something that works, why not stick with it?  

There is no evidence of a lawsuit between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Bulova.  There is a 1952 FTC stipulation involving Bulova and the Academy which effected the way Bulova could advertise the watches.  It did not require Bulova to stop making the Academy Awards.

The contract between Bulova and the Academy is believed to have run through 1954 and to have terminated naturally, but that is, as far as I'm concerned, unconfirmed rumor which I hope to confirm or deny very soon.  We do have a 1953 ad for the an AA.

I have never seen any reference to a lawsuit or other legal matter requiring Bulova to quit making the AAs or terminating the contract early.  The lawsuit that is typically cited in this regard did not involve the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but rather a wholly unrelated, sham company.  That lawsuit is public information available for anyone to read, as is the FTC stipulation.

The 1952 end date is unsupported by the known facts.