Spribe Secures Victory Over Betnacional, With Brand Ordered to Cease Using “Aviator” Name

(AsiaGameHub) –   A court in Brazil’s Pernambuco state has issued a preliminary injunction ordering Betnacional to stop using the name “Aviator” following a legal challenge from game developer Spribe OÜ.

On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) ruled in favor of Spribe in a lawsuit filed against Flutter-owned NSX Brasil S.A., the company operating Betnacional.

The court mandated that NSX immediately cease using the Aviator trademark, including any “identical or confusingly similar signs,” and stop reproducing any visual, graphical, or audiovisual elements associated with Spribe’s product.

This injunction includes daily fines for non-compliance and will remain in effect until an appeal is decided.

Basis for the dispute

Spribe’s claim is based on its registered trademark for “Aviator,” its highly successful crash game available in numerous global markets. In Brazil, the game is trademarked with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). The court’s decision upheld the developer’s ownership claim of the trademark.

The dispute arose over a similar crash-style game offered on Betnacional’s platform under the name “Aviator,” attributed to NSX by a provider identified as “Aviator Studio.”

Spribe alleged that this constituted an unauthorized duplication of its own game, which it developed in late 2018.

Significantly, Spribe asserted that Betnacional had been an authorized licensee of Aviator since 2022, and the disputed offering diverged from that licensing agreement.

In a statement regarding the ruling, Spribe commented: “This interim decision in Brazil represents a significant step in SPRIBE’s global strategy to protect its intellectual property. The company is actively monitoring markets worldwide and will continue to enforce its trademark and copyright protections in all jurisdictions.

“SPRIBE remains dedicated to pursuing all necessary legal actions against infringers to preserve the integrity of the original ‘AVIATOR’ experience and ensure a fair and transparent environment for its global player base.”

Ongoing Aviator legal cases elsewhere

This case is part of Spribe’s broader international efforts to protect its Aviator intellectual property. The developer recently obtained a similar injunction in UK courts against parties accused of infringing the Aviator brand.

This ongoing case prevented rival studio Aviator LLC from launching a competing crash game in the UK market.

Spribe founder David Natroshvili stated that the interim injunction indicated the UK court supported the supplier’s position.

“Spribe created the Aviator crash game in 2018 and is the sole owner of the game globally,” Natroshvili said when the injunction was granted in August of last year.

“We will continue to take all necessary steps globally to protect Spribe, our partners, and players from any third parties seeking to undermine or infringe our rights.”

The dispute between Spribe and Aviator originated in Aviator’s home country of Georgia in 2024. It began with Aviator LLC accusing Spribe of infringing its Aviator imagery’s copyright and trademark.

The case generated considerable uncertainty, with both Flutter and Spribe facing potential liability of €330 million for using the Aviator image and name.

However, in January 2025, Aviator LLC withdrew its claim against Flutter. Aviator’s legal counsel at the time informed IGB that Flutter and its subsidiaries had acknowledged Aviator LLC’s rights to the Aviator trademark and airplane imagery, leading both parties to drop all litigation against each other.