Aviator is the original crash gaming title. Its creators have been accused of copyright infringement by Aviator LLC. We discuss the legal battle in the following article.
Anyone who plays online casinos will have seen Aviator and its many crash gaming copies and variants at some point over the last five years. Yet the company behind the flagship title, Spribe OÜ, along with Adjarabet owners Flutter, have recently been embroiled in a trademark dispute. This has been with a company named Aviator LLC, who claim Spribe have infringed copyright by creating a game bearing their name and logos.
Spribe Studios vs. Aviator LLC
Aviator LLC is based in Tblisi, Georgia, and is a registered entity that works in its land-based casino sector. It has copyright on several logos and properties bearing the Aviator logo. In their home country, they have secured a $330 million ruling against the accused. This was at the Georgia Court of the First Instance, which acts as a city and district court in the country’s legal systems. This means the case will now be referred to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
The dispute centres on the use of these copyright entities being used for the Avaiator game logo in 2019. The previous owner of Adjarabet, City Loft, had transferred all the intellectual property regarding the logo and trademark to Aviator LLC in 2022. Adjarabet was then sold to Flutter, who continued to use the logos. However, Nikoloz Gogilidze, the legal representative of Aviator LLC, claims the copyright was not included in the sale and was instead owned by Aviator LLC.
Teimuraz Ugulava was the former owner of Adjarabet. When he was still the full owner of the company, the game launched on his online casino in 2019. According to the lawyer, when the sale of the website was done and Flutter became the new owners, a list of specific trademarks was included, one of which was the Adjarabet name and logo. However, this did not include the Aviator trademark.
Spribe has since launched its own copyright for the Aviator brand name in 2021 and 2022. However, it is this that Aviator LLC claims infringes on its copyright. In response, Spribe has reiterated that it created the Aviator game and, as a result, the whole crash gaming sector. They also explained that the IP (copyright, trademark) is protected worldwide and owned exclusively by them.
The Rise of Crash Gaming
It is easy to see why so much is at stake with this legal case. Since its introduction in 2019, Aviator has sparked a phenomenon in the online gaming and casino sphere. Its popularity has meant that it can now be found in a whole host of online casinos. If you don’t find the Aviator game, you will undoubtedly find one of its crash gaming copies.
The genre centres around a simple wager on the path of an object, in this case, an aircraft. The player bets to see how long they think it will stay in the air. The longer it does, the more multipliers will increase their bet total. However, if they don’t cash out before the aircraft plummets to the ground, then they lose their money. In the case of Aviator, the plane tends to shoot off into the stratosphere, but the concept is the same.
Unlike other casino games, like slots with their complex bonus rounds, you don’t have to brush up on a huge rulebook. You dont need strategy like you do in poker, and you dont need to calculate probability like you do in games such as blackjack. The game is just simple, fun wagering that people can take part in right away.
There is also a huge social element to crash gaming you don’t always get with other casino titles. When you start the game, you are placed in a lobby where people can chat and interact. As you all bet on the same aircraft, it creates a sense of group excitement and camaraderie. This is unlike slots, which are played alone, and table games, where you play against each other or against the dealer.
The game’s popularity has led to a range of spin-offs. There are even live games, such as Cash or Crash Live. These replace the digital playfield for a lottery-style machine in a studio. The host removes a series of coloured balls from the machine. Green is a multiplier, while red signals the crash. These can add a further layer to the social aspect of the game.
It is unknown what will happen in regard to the Aviator copyright case. The LLC has stated it now wants to pursue the case worldwide. With so much money being made by the title, it may be best for all parties to come to an amicable arrangement for use of the trademark. However, it is seldom that easy, and in the worst instance, Aviator may have to change its name after all.
