A significant ruling has emerged from the Court of First Instance of Curaçao, which invalidated two trademark registrations held by Aviator LLC. This decision is an important development in the ongoing global intellectual property dispute between Aviator LLC and SPRIBE, the company behind the popular Aviator crash game.
The court issued a default judgment on May 25, 2026, canceling two trademarks registered by Aviator LLC under the Madrid Protocol. Just four days later, the court corrected some administrative errors related to the trademark registration numbers.
The trademarks in question include International Registration (IR) 1822051, which covers the combined word-and-figurative Aviator mark across Classes 9, 28, and 41, as well as IR 1827771, which protects the AVIATOR word mark in Classes 9, 41, and 42. Both trademarks were registered in 2024, with Curaçao designated as a protected jurisdiction. The court noted that Aviator LLC did not appear in court, despite a formal summons. Additionally, the ruling requires Aviator LLC to cover SPRIBE's legal costs, and the Curaçao Bureau for Intellectual Property has officially recorded the cancellations effective from May 25, 2026.
This ruling is part of a broader and complex legal battle that spans multiple jurisdictions. SPRIBE contends that these trademarks were registered without its consent. Notably, one of the trademarks was initially filed by Rational Intellectual Holdings Limited before being transferred to Aviator LLC in March 2025. SPRIBE also holds an earlier trademark in Curaçao, IR 1759803, registered in August 2023, reinforcing its rights in the jurisdiction.
Court documents reveal that Aviator LLC is linked to SPRIBE's former Georgian licensee, which previously operated as Aviator LLC and now functions as AB Georgia LLC. This entity was allowed to operate the Aviator game only in Georgia and Armenia under licensing agreements from 2018 and 2021.
While the Curaçao judgment favors SPRIBE, the litigation concerning the Aviator brand has yielded mixed results across different jurisdictions. For instance, in Georgia, the Court of First Instance ruled in August 2024 that SPRIBE's trademark registrations were filed in bad faith and infringed upon Aviator LLC's copyright, leading to a $330 million damages award. This decision was upheld by the Georgian Supreme Court in May 2025.
In contrast, SPRIBE has achieved more favorable outcomes in the United Kingdom. In July 2025, the High Court issued an interim injunction preventing Aviator LLC from launching a competing crash game within the UK. Furthermore, in May 2026, the court ruled that findings from the Georgian proceedings would not be automatically recognized under English law, allowing the UK litigation to continue separately. A full trial in the UK regarding the ownership of the Aviator brand is anticipated to take place in late 2026 or early 2027.
According to the Curaçao ruling, SPRIBE has initiated over 120 trademark opposition proceedings globally against registrations made by Aviator LLC and its national extensions. Meanwhile, Aviator LLC is also pursuing its own legal actions, having filed separate cases against Betway in South Africa alleging unauthorized use of its branding. As the litigation unfolds across various jurisdictions, this dispute remains a focal point in intellectual property discussions within the global iGaming industry, with upcoming rulings likely to influence commercial rights associated with one of online gaming's most successful titles.
