The Pernambuco Court of Justice has overturned the preliminary injunction it had earlier granted to Spribe OÜ concerning the AVIATOR trademark in Brazil. This change follows a significant adjustment in the legal circumstances upon which the initial decision was based.
Judge Andrea Epaminondas Tenorio de Brito determined that the facts and legal context supporting the earlier injunction are no longer applicable. This judgment comes on the heels of a ruling from the Federal Court in Brasília, which provisionally suspended the effects of Spribe’s AVIATOR trademark registration in Brazil.
As a result, the court directed Spribe to refrain from asserting exclusivity derived from that trademark registration until the federal case concerning its invalidation is concluded.
The court clarified that its initial ruling was premised on the assumption that Spribe's trademark registration with the Brazilian Property and Trademarks Office was legitimate and enforceable. Given that the Federal Court has since suspended the legal implications of that registration, the Pernambuco Court concluded that the reasons for the preliminary injunction have significantly changed, warranting its revocation in accordance with Article 296 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure.
In related developments, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Federal District and Territories initiated an investigation in June into potential abusive practices by Spribe regarding misleading advertisements and unfair commercial activities. Allegations included inconsistencies between the stated and actual Return to Player (RTP) rates. The Prosecutor's Office recommended that the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets suspend the technical certification of Spribe’s games and prohibit them from licensed operators.
This inquiry originated from a lawsuit filed by Aviator Studio Brasil, which contended that the AVIATOR trademark was created and used well before Spribe secured local protection. Evidence presented indicated that the AVIATOR trademark initially originated in Georgia in 2016 and was officially registered there in 2018, well ahead of Spribe's registration in Brazil. Additionally, prior judicial decisions in Georgia that annulled Spribe’s AVIATOR trademark registration recognized the rights of the original trademark owner.
