Flutter has stated that it will be appealing the $330m trademark and copyright claim made against Spribe and its Georgian online casino Adjarabet, regarding the use of the ‘Aviator’ name and logo, which was trademarked by Aviator LLC.
The decision, ruled by The Court of First Instance in Georgia on 20 August, said Spribe’s trademark registration of the Aviator name and logo was done in bad faith, with the supplier already being aware of the Aviator LLC brand. As this infringes on Aviator LLC’s copyright, Adjarabet has also been called on to prevent further use of copyrighted material as it relates to the Aviator game.
Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili LLC (Aviator LLC’s representative law firm) and its Managing Partner Nikoloz Gogilidze said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the court’s ruling on this claim and we will continue to aggressively protect our client’s intellectual property from unlicensed use on any international gaming platforms.”
Now, Adjarabet brand owner Flutter, which also owns brands such as FanDuel in the US and Sky Bet in the UK, has spoken out against the ruling. The brand called the claim one made without any merit, stating that “the level of damages sought is egregious in nature and bears no resemblance to the actual economics of the property under debate.”
While neither Flutter nor Aviator specified the percentage of the $330m fine to be paid by each party, according to Flutter, the Aviator crash game generated roughly $7.5m in revenue for the operator in Georgia last year – a small sum compared to the $3.61bn in revenue made in Q2 alone by the operator this year. As such, it can be understood why Flutter may perceive the damages charge as unbalanced compared to the amount it earns.
In response from Spribe
Spribe took to LinkedIn to clarify its position on 30 August. Stating that it created Aviator in 2018, Spribe ‘is the creator and proud owner of the Aviator game globally, with the IP (copyright, trademark) protected worldwide and owned exclusively by us.’ The supplier went on to state that Aviator is certified in over 40 jurisdictions with a player base of over 35 million across 4,500+ brands.
Questions that remain
If any operator can afford such a fine it’s Flutter; however, having deep pockets is far from a valid answer for why an operator should pay so much for a game it did not create
What is the split of damages between the different firms?
While Adjarabet was directly implicated in the court case, the fact remains that Adjarabet is just one of many online gaming sites to host the Aviator crash game. Spribe’s crash game is one of the most popular on the market, hosted by online casinos around the world, and as the supplier of the game, it might be assumed that Spribe will be required to foot the majority of the bill.
However, Flutter is one of the largest operators on the market, making billions in revenue quarterly. If any operator can afford such a fine it’s Flutter; however, having deep pockets is far from a valid answer for why an operator should pay so much for a game it did not create.
Is it exclusive to Georgia?
The appeal was made in Georgia and ruled by The Court of First Instance. In announcements so far, it has not been confirmed whether the copyright case extends out of Georgia – potentially explaining why only Adjarabet, one of the nation’s largest online casinos, was implemented; instead of other large global operators like Paddy Power, another large Flutter-owned operator that hosts the Aviator crash game.
Is Aviator LLC exclusive to Georgia?
As it relates to the above, if Aviator LLC is a brand operating exclusively in Georgia, it would make sense that the copyright claim remains solely in the territory.
However, if this is the case, how could the copyright claim amount reach such a high price tag?
