Aviator LLC has won a $330m trademark and copyright claim against Spribe OÜ and Flutter-owned Adjarabet for the operator’s use of the Aviator name and logo as part of the popular crash game of the same name. The Court of First Instance in Georgia found that Spribe had committed copyright and trademark infringement, and had invalidated trademark registrations, thus awarding Aviator $330m in damages. In the 2021-22 period, Spribe registered its Aviator trademark for computer games and gambling services.
The Aviator game has since gone on to become one of the most (if not the most) popular crash games on the market – something we discussed in our May/ June issue of Gambling Insider – and is hosted on the Adjarabet site, one of the largest online casinos in Georgia. Aviator filed the lawsuit against the Georgian Flutter-owned brand on two grounds. Firstly, that Spribe had registered its trademarks in bad faith, knowing about the existence of the Aviator brand, and secondly that these registrations infringed on Aviator’s copyright. As part of the suit, Aviator has also called for the prevention of Adjarabet using its copyrighted material in the ‘Aviator’ crash game.
The Court ruled in favor of Aviator LLC on 20 August. Alongside the $330m damages claim, the Court has also invalidated Spribe’s challenging trademark and has called for Adjarabet to cease its use of the ‘Aviator’ title for its flagship game. Aviator LLC’s representative law firm is Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili LLC. Said Managing Partner Nikoloz Gogilidze: “We are pleased with the outcome of the court’s ruling on this claim and we will continue to aggressively protect our client’s intellectual property from unlicensed use on any international gaming platforms.”
