The UK Court of Appeal has reversed a High Court ruling in a copyright dispute between Aviator LLC and Spribe. The decision, made on October 2, was unanimous and pertains to earlier court proceedings in Georgia but does not address whether Spribe infringed on Aviator LLC’s copyright or the relevance of the Georgian court outcomes to the UK case.
The Court of Appeal annulled a prior ruling from May that had treated the Georgian court’s decisions as significant to Aviator LLC’s copyright claim. This previous judgment had favored Spribe and had rejected Aviator LLC’s request for a preliminary ruling on ownership before examining the broader issues in the case.
At the heart of the dispute is the design and branding of the Aviator crash game. Aviator LLC contends that Spribe has copied its distinctive design, which features both an airplane and the Aviator name. Spribe, on the other hand, refutes these claims, asserting that it created its graphics independently and alleges that both parties disagree on the similarities between their products and branding.
Various jurisdictions have seen different outcomes regarding this dispute. In Malta, the First Hall of the Civil Court temporarily ruled in favor of Spribe, concluding that the branding of Aviator Studio closely resembled Spribe’s trademarks within the European Union, thereby creating potential confusion. Meanwhile, in Curaçao, a Court of First Instance ruled against Aviator LLC, invalidating its local trademarks after Aviator LLC failed to appear in court, resulting in a default victory for Spribe.
