SPRIBE Secures UK Court Injunction Against Rival Aviator Game

SPRIBE OÜ has secured an interim injunction from the High Court of England and Wales preventing rival companies from expanding their competing Aviator crash game into new platforms in Colombia, Romania and Serbia.

The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Tappin on November 6, 2026, restricts Aviator LLC and the Malta-based Aviator Studio companies from launching their game under the Aviator name in the three countries while the legal dispute continues.

The decision also allows SPRIBE to pursue additional intellectual property and unfair competition claims involving nine international markets through the ongoing proceedings in London.

The dispute concerns two crash games operating under the same name and using similar aircraft-themed branding. SPRIBE launched its Aviator game in Georgia in 2019, while the rival Aviator product entered the market in March 2025.

The court’s latest order follows earlier interim injunctions issued in the UK and Malta as the companies continue their legal battle over the Aviator brand.

Court Restricts New Aviator Game Launches in Colombia, Romania and Serbia

Under the injunction, Aviator LLC and the Aviator Studio companies cannot introduce or offer their competing crash game on additional platforms targeting Colombia, Romania or Serbia.

The restrictions apply to games using the AVIATOR name or a similar aeroplane design and will remain in place until the court issues a further order.

However, the injunction does not require the companies to withdraw their game from every existing platform.

Websites and applications that were already offering the rival Aviator game on or before July 3, 2026, are permitted to continue doing so.

The defendants must also provide SPRIBE’s solicitors with a list identifying the platforms covered by that exemption.

The court granted the Aviator companies permission to apply for changes to the injunction specifically concerning Serbia.

Separate arrangements were established for other jurisdictions.

For Canada and Italy, the court accepted undertakings requiring the Aviator parties to provide 28 days’ written notice before launching or marketing their game.

A demonstration version of the rival game had previously been accessible in Italy before SPRIBE obtained a provisional European Union-wide injunction from a Maltese court.

The Aviator companies must also provide at least two weeks’ notice before launching their product in 28 additional countries.

These requirements give SPRIBE advance warning of planned expansion while the underlying legal claims remain unresolved.

High Court Finds Potential for Confusion Between Aviator Games

A central issue in the proceedings is whether consumers could confuse SPRIBE’s established Aviator game with the competing product.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Tappin highlighted the similarities between the two games’ names and visual identities.

The judge observed that there were “two crash games both called Aviator and using very similar logos”, making it “very likely that there will be confusion between the two”.

That assessment supported the decision to impose temporary restrictions on further launches in the three markets.

However, the judge emphasised that his findings were provisional and did not represent a final determination of the parties’ competing intellectual property claims.

The Aviator companies can still pursue their illegality defence, which relates to their copyright claim concerning the aeroplane logo used by SPRIBE.

The underlying dispute over ownership, branding and the legality of the competing products will therefore remain subject to further examination at trial.

SPRIBE Allowed to Expand Counterclaims Across Nine Countries

The High Court also granted SPRIBE permission to broaden its counterclaims against the Aviator companies.

Although the Aviator parties initiated the London proceedings, SPRIBE is defending the original claims while pursuing its own legal action.

The latest ruling allows SPRIBE to introduce passing off and unfair competition counterclaims in nine jurisdictions: Canada, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Romania, Serbia and South Africa.

Passing off generally concerns allegations that one business has misrepresented its goods or services in a way that could cause consumers to associate them with another business.

The court’s decision allows SPRIBE to pursue these claims within the existing English proceedings rather than addressing every jurisdiction through entirely separate litigation.

However, the judge declined SPRIBE’s request to introduce similar claims involving another 28 countries.

The ruling therefore expands the geographical scope of the case while placing limits on how far the additional counterclaims can extend.

SPRIBE Points to Years of Investment in Aviator Brand

The latest injunction follows earlier legal victories secured by SPRIBE as it seeks to protect its Aviator game and associated branding.

The company obtained an interim injunction in the UK in 2025 and subsequently secured a provisional order from a Maltese court covering the European Union.

SPRIBE founder David Natroshvili welcomed the November ruling, describing it as an important development in the company’s efforts to prevent competing products from using its established branding.

“We have invested years into building the Aviator brand and earning the trust of players worldwide. This ruling sends an unequivocal message to copycats: you cannot hide behind borders,” Natroshvili said.

He added that SPRIBE would continue taking steps to protect its game, brand and players.

The company’s position reflects the commercial importance of Aviator, which has become one of its most recognisable products since launching in 2019.

However, the legal proceedings remain ongoing, and the interim injunction does not resolve the competing ownership and intellectual property claims.

Main Aviator Trial Moved Forward to October 2027

Alongside the injunction and expanded counterclaims, Mr Justice Tappin agreed to accelerate the timetable for the main proceedings.

The full trial is now scheduled for October 2027, rather than early 2028 as previously anticipated.

Before that hearing, the court will consider preliminary legal issues relating to the effect of earlier judgments issued by courts in Georgia.

That preliminary trial is scheduled for April 2027.

The timetable follows an October 2 ruling by the Court of Appeal confirming that English law governs the question of how the earlier Georgian judgments should be treated in the proceedings.

The preliminary hearing will therefore address an important legal issue before the broader dispute reaches trial.

SPRIBE’s chief commercial officer, Giorgi Tsutskiridze, has also discussed the ongoing dispute, the company’s intellectual property position and its wider product plans in an interview with European Gaming.

Aviator Legal Dispute Continues Across Multiple Jurisdictions

The November 6 ruling strengthens SPRIBE’s interim position by restricting new launches of the rival Aviator game in Colombia, Romania and Serbia.

It also brings additional international claims into the London proceedings, potentially reducing the need for separate litigation across the nine jurisdictions covered by the approved counterclaims.

Nevertheless, the restrictions are temporary, and the court has not reached a final conclusion on the underlying intellectual property dispute.

The Aviator companies retain the ability to challenge aspects of the injunction and advance their legal defences.

With preliminary proceedings scheduled for April 2027 and the main trial set for October, the dispute between SPRIBE and the rival Aviator businesses is expected to remain a significant legal issue for the online gaming industry throughout the coming year.