UK High Court Allows Spribe to Extend Aviator Claims to Nine Countries

The UK High Court has allowed Spribe to expand its counterclaims in the dispute with the Aviator parties, adding allegations concerning nine countries to the existing English proceedings.

The permitted claims cover Canada, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Romania, Serbia and South Africa. They concern alleged passing off, unfair competition and specified copyright infringements.

The decision allows those allegations to be heard alongside the existing case. It does not determine ownership of the disputed rights or establish infringement.

Claims for 28 Further Countries Rejected

Spribe argued that the rival game’s name, aircraft imagery and branding could confuse customers in markets where its Aviator product already operates.

The court accepted that the nine-country claims could appropriately be addressed together in England. However, it refused Spribe’s request to add another 28 countries, finding insufficient detail and supporting evidence for the proposed allegations. 

The distinction limits the geographic scope of the expanded case without resolving its central copyright dispute.

Main Trial Brought Forward

Mr Justice Tappin accelerated the main trial to October 2027. Without expedition, it would have been scheduled for early 2028.

A separate preliminary trial is due in April 2027 to examine the effect of earlier Georgian court judgments. That hearing will consider whether those judgments prevent particular issues from being argued again in the English proceedings, a principle known as issue estoppel. 

The two hearings address different questions: the April proceedings concern the potential binding effect of previous judgments, while the October trial will address the remaining substantive dispute.

An October 2 Court of Appeal ruling established that English law governs the issue-estoppel question. It did not itself decide which issues, if any, the Georgian judgments conclusively settle.