Betfair and FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR) said it will appeal the $330 million damages that a court in the former Soviet nation of Georgia has awarded against the FTSE 100 bookmaker over a copyright infringement case.
The Court of First Instance ruled against Flutter and its local partner Spribe over a trademark claim filed by Aviator LLC, a former shareholder of the Irish company's Georgian subsidiary Adjarabet.
It related to an online game also called Aviator, the Tblisi-based company said in a statement, with the court finding "copyright and trademark infringement and invalidated trademark registrations based on bad faith registration and copyright infringement".
The image and brand name 'Aviator' has been used by Spribe in an online game which was offered on Adjarabet's website in Georgia (see website ad pictured), of which Flutter owned 51% since 2019 and 100% since 2022.
Spribe registered its own Aviator trademarks for computer games and gambling services, which it was claimed infringed on the original trademark.
With the ruling, the court also invalidated the trademark registrations by Spribe.
Flutter said in a statement emailed to Reuters today that it was surprised by the ruling, strongly disputed the quantum of the judgment, noting that the Aviator game generated around $7.5 million of revenue in Georgia last year.
"The level of damages sought is egregious in nature and bears no resemblance to the actual economics of the property under debate," Flutter said, adding that it planned to appeal.