Spribe Secures EU-Wide Injunction in Aviator Trademark Fight

Spribe has secured a provisional injunction from Malta’s First Hall of the Civil Court against three companies tied to Aviator Studio, escalating the fight over one of online casino’s most recognizable crash-game brands.

The order, issued on Sep 1, 2026, directs Aviator Studio Limited, Aviator Studio Holding Limited and Aviator Studio USA Limited to stop using signs identical or similar to two EU trademarks held by Spribe for comparable gaming products and services. It also restricts the companies from using the aviator.studio website for those offerings.

The court found, on an initial basis, that Aviator Studio’s branding created a likelihood of confusion. Its assessment centered on the shared Aviator name, similar aircraft imagery, elements of the games’ audiovisual presentation and the fact that both products target the same online gambling audience.

Examples presented to the court included casino search results that placed the two games alongside each other and a separate listing that appeared to attribute Spribe’s game to Aviator Studio. The court also noted that Aviator Studio Limited had obtained a Malta Gaming Authority B2B supply licence, giving the company a route to expand distribution through operators in Malta and elsewhere in the European Union.

The ruling is not a final decision on ownership or infringement. It was granted without the Aviator Studio companies being heard at that stage, and they can ask the court to review it. Spribe must also open proceedings on the merits within 31 calendar days of the order if it wants the restrictions to remain in place.

The Malta decision gives Spribe immediate leverage in the EU, but it does not settle the wider dispute over who owns the underlying Aviator intellectual property. That fight has produced different results depending on the territory, the rights being asserted and the law applied by each court.

In Georgia, courts ruled against Spribe’s local trademark registrations and in favor of Aviator LLC’s copyright position. Georgia’s Supreme Court upheld those findings in 2025. Spribe disputes the broader effect of those decisions and has continued asserting rights to the Aviator game and branding outside Georgia.

The procedural split is visible in a May 2026 UK High Court ruling. The court held that the effect of the Georgian judgments on claims governed by foreign law must be assessed under the law of the country where protection is sought. The decision did not determine who ultimately owns the copyright, but it rejected the idea that the Georgian findings automatically decide every issue in the English proceedings.

Spribe had already obtained an interim UK injunction preventing Aviator LLC from launching a competing Aviator-branded crash game before trial. A further hearing on Spribe’s request for broader preliminary relief is expected in October.

The dispute has also moved into the United States. Aviator LLC and Aviator Studio USA filed a federal trademark action against Spribe in New Jersey in June 2026, with both sides now advancing claims over the brand.

The result is a legal conflict with no single global answer. Trademark and copyright rights are territorial, and the same history can produce different outcomes under different national laws. Malta’s order strengthens Spribe’s position in the EU for now, while the underlying ownership fight continues in the UK, the US and other markets.