Major Legal Victory
The UK High Court has ruled in favour of gaming developer Spribe in a significant intellectual property dispute. The court has issued an injunction that bars rival Aviator LLC from launching or marketing its competing crash game product in the UK.
The decision marks a major legal win for Spribe in its ongoing efforts to defend the branding and intellectual property rights of its flagship Aviator crash game. The ruling means Aviator LLC can no longer promote or distribute its own crash games in the UK market.
Spribe’s CEO, David Natroshvili, welcomed the outcome, stating that the respected UK High Court backed their position and granted an injunction to stop what he describes as “copycat” games. He was keen to point out that Spribe launched its Aviator game in 2018 and that the company is the sole owner of the product. He also indicated that Spribe will continue to protect its rights across international jurisdictions.
The High Court’s decision is in direct opposition to an outcome in Georgia last year. Aviator LLC successfully secured a $330 million damages payout from Spribe and the Flutter-owned Adjarabet. The Georgian court found that Spribe had infringed on Aviator LLC’s trademark. The court said that Spribe had registered the name “Aviator” in bad faith and that Adjarabet used Aviator LLC’s logo. As a result, Spribe’s trademarks are invalidated, and Adjarabet is banned from using the Aviator brand.
In response, Spribe released a statement that described the Georgian legal process as procedurally flawed and unusually quick. They condemned the court process by describing Georgia as “a jurisdiction where concerns around judicial independence and transparency have been widely documented."
In the same statement, Spribe also condemned Aviator LLC’s conduct during the proceedings. They said that the UK court described Aviator LLC’s behaviour as "childlike" and "petulant".
Ongoing Issues
Crash games have become a lucrative market recently. It is a growing segment of online gambling in which players bet on an ascending multiplier with the goal of cashing out before a sudden “crash”.Spribe’s crash game, Aviator, is one of the most popular of the kind, especially in Europe. The game is featured on many leading gambling platforms in the UK. The injunction from the UK court gives Spribe a clearer legal advantage in one of the world’s most important, biggest, and heavily-regulated gambling markets.
The broader legal landscape remains fragmented. Conflicting decisions in different jurisdictions mean that all cases could be subject to appeals, causing disputes to ramble on long after a court’s decision. Both companies want to assert their rights worldwide. The UK’s decision to lock out Aviator LLC will likely have lasting implications for both companies in their global pursuit of crash game domination.
