SPRIBE Secures EU-Wide Injunction in Aviator Trademark Dispute

Once again, SPRIBE has picked up another court order in its fight over ownership of the Aviator brand name and visual identity. The First Hall of the Civil Court in Malta granted the game developer a provisional injunction against Aviator Studio Limited, Aviator Studio Holding Limited and Aviator Studio USA Limited. This order thus protects SPRIBE’s registered Aviator trademarks across all member states of the European Union.

At this stage, however, the ruling is still temporary. The First Hall of the Civil Court in Malta It issued the decision on an ex parte basis, meaning the court granted the urgent measures before hearing a full response from the Aviator Studio companies. As such, it doesn’t settle the broader dispute or amount to a final ruling on the larger trademark infringement dispute.

What Does the Maltese Order Prevent?

The injunction concerns EU trade marks 018817594 and 018825078, filed in 2022 and 2023. According to SPRIBE, the registrations are to protect its renowned Aviator logo, plane graphic and audiovisual presentation.

Under the order, the three mentioned companies must stop using signs that are identical or confusingly similar to those marks in connection with similar products or services. It also covers material available through aviator.studio and any other website displaying the disputed branding.

Thus, per the injunction, the trio can’t continue promoting the disputed version of Aviator under branding while the order is still active. That gives SPRIBE useful protection beyond Malta as its concern wasn’t only limited to one local website or a single national market. Therefore, an order reaching the wider EU carries considerably more weight.

SPRIBE Says the Branding Could Confuse Players

SPRIBE told the court that Aviator Studios had been marketing what it described as an “imitation” of the famed crash game. Further, the plaintiff argued that the similarities could confuse players, gambling operators and commercial partners over which company is behind the product.

Following the provisional injunction, SPRIBE founder David Natroshvili welcomed the decision and placed it alongside the company’s other recent trademark actions. These include the cancellation of disputed marks in Curaçao and the registration of its Aviator logo in Kenya.

The Wider Aviator Fight Continues

Malta is only one part of a much larger dispute as the company has pursued opposition proceedings, cancellation requests and court cases in several other jurisdictions. Litigation involving SPRIBE and Aviator companies is also continuing before the High Court of England and Wales.

Court records show that Aviator LLC, Aviator Studio Limited and Aviator Studio Holding Limited are claimants in the UK proceedings, with SPRIBE named as the defendant. SPRIBE recently said that it’s already obtained interim relief in the UK and is seeking a multiterritorial preliminary injunction. A Case Management Conference is scheduled for October. 

For now, the Maltese order strengthens SPRIBE’s position and restricts how the three Aviator Studio companies can use the disputed branding across the EU. But because the injunction is provisional and was granted without a full hearing of both sides, it should be viewed as an important early decision. It isn’t in any way the final word on who ultimately wins the Aviator dispute.