After winning a $330 million lawsuit against Adjarabet and Spribe OÜ, Aviator LLC provided more details about the origins of the Aviator brand and logo.
The company's legal representative, Nikoloz Gogilidze of Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili, outlined the history of the Aviator trademark that became the focus of the dispute in a statement.
According to the statement, the Aviator name and logo were created by Georgian businessman Teimuraz Ugulava during 2016-2017.
In 2018, the trademark was officially registered by Ugulava's sole proprietorship, City Loft, at the Georgian National Trademark Office.
Initially, the Aviator logo was used for a land-based casino, but later became associated with the Aviator crash game, which was launched on the Adjarabet platform in January 2019, while Ugulava still owned the company.
Late in 2019, Adjarabet was sold to Flutter Entertainment, but the Aviator trademark rights were not included in the sale. Nevertheless, Adjarabet and Spribe continued to use the Aviator logo on their platforms in Georgia and Armenia until January 2024.
Spribe, involved in the game's development, also made minor modifications to the logo and began using it internationally.
In 2022, all intellectual property related to the Aviator trademark was transferred from City Loft to Aviator. Aviator then took legal action, rendering Spribe's use of the modified logo, which had been registered in Georgia and the EU, invalid.
Spribe and Flutter's Defense of Ownership
In response to legal developments, both Spribe and Flutter Entertainment publicly defended their rights to use the Aviator game and logo. Spribe insisted it was the creator of the Aviator game and claimed global intellectual property rights to the game and its logo.
Flutter Entertainment also objected to the Georgian court's ruling, calling the damages unreasonable, and vowed to appeal.
As the legal dispute continues, the case highlights the complexity of intellectual property disputes in the gaming industry, especially when multiple parties are involved in product development and marketing across different jurisdictions.
