SPRIBE secures restrictions on rival Aviator expansion
SPRIBE has obtained interim restrictions preventing competing Aviator businesses from expanding their crash game onto new platforms targeting Colombia, Romania and Serbia. The High Court of England and Wales handed down its judgment on November 6, while preserving an exception for platforms already offering the rival game.
Mr. Justice Tappin’s decision concerns the ongoing proceedings between Aviator LLC, related Aviator Studio companies and SPRIBE. The restriction applies to a crash game offered under the Aviator name or specified similar aircraft branding, pending further order.
Third-party websites, applications and other platforms that already offered the rival game on or before July 3, 2026, may continue doing so. The court also required information identifying the platforms on which it was available in the three countries by that date.
The Aviator parties may apply to vary the order concerning Serbia. The judge expressly preserved that possibility after considering evidence about the position a Serbian court might take toward interim restrictions involving locally registered trademarks.
Wider claims proceed toward an earlier trial
The ruling also allows SPRIBE to pursue passing-off and unfair-competition counterclaims concerning Canada, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Romania, Serbia and South Africa. The court refused permission to extend those claims to a further 28 jurisdictions.
For Canada and Italy, the Aviator parties agreed to provide 28 days’ written notice before launching or marketing the game. Separate notification requirements provide at least two weeks’ notice concerning launches in the additional territories covered by that arrangement.
In assessing likely confusion between the games, Mr. Justice Tappin stated: “Such confusion will cause damage to Spribe, not least in the form of diversion of business from consumers who would otherwise have played its game.” His assessment remained provisional, with the parties’ competing intellectual-property arguments still to be determined.
The main trial has been expedited to October 2027, rather than early 2028. A preliminary trial addressing the effect of earlier Georgian judgments is scheduled for April 2027. The interim restrictions do not resolve the underlying ownership and infringement claims.
