Aviator Regains Momentum in UK Court Dispute Against Spribe

Aviator LLC has won an appeal in its long-running legal battle against Spribe after the UK Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling in its rival’s favor. In a unanimous October 2 judgment, the court sided with Aviator in connection with earlier legal proceedings in Georgia. The dispute centers on whether Georgian court findings can prevent certain issues from being disputed again in UK court. The Georgia Findings Could Prove Pivotal to the Case This latest ruling reverses a setback Aviator suffered in May, when the UK High Court ruled that Georgian judgments were relevant to Aviator LLC’s copyright claims. However, the underlying allegations remain unresolved. The Court of Appeal has not ruled on whether Spribe infringed Aviator LLC’s copyright, nor whether the Georgia findings are binding in the UK case. May’s ruling gave Spribe a procedural advantage, arguing that English law was insufficient to encompass the dispute in its entirety. The judge also denied Aviator LLC’s request for a preliminary hearing to address ownership issues before the rest of the case could proceed. He argued that such questions were intertwined with disputed facts and Georgian law. The ongoing dispute centers on the artwork and branding of the popular Aviator crash game. Aviator LLC alleges that Spribe copied original designs, including visual elements featuring an aircraft and the Aviator name. Spribe denies the allegations, arguing it created its artwork independently. The two sides have been locked in a legal fight over the similarities between their products and the Aviator trademark. Courts Across Europe Are Also Getting Involved The dispute is also evolving throughout Europe, with a provisional ruling in Malta favoring Spribe. The First Hall of the Civil Court of Malta concluded that Aviator Studio’s branding was sufficiently similar to Spribe’s EU trademarks to create a risk of confusion. The court cited examples of the two companies’ games appearing alongside one another, potentially making it difficult for players to differentiate between them. Legal proceedings have also spread to Curaçao. This is one more jurisdiction where Spribe appears to have the upper hand. A Court of First Instance ruling invalidated Aviator LLC’s local trademarks, leaving Spribe as the default winner. Notably, Aviator LLC did not send a representative to defend its case, giving its rival undisputed access to the lucrative Curaçao market. Contrasting decisions in different jurisdictions demonstrate the separate legal questions facing the two companies in various markets. In the UK, the next stage of the legal proceedings will determine whether Aviator can establish its copyright claims and how the English court will consider previous judgments in Georgia.