Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has advised Realtime SIA in its Court of Appeal victory against Playtech Software Limited, in successfully setting aside the grant of permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeal published its judgment in Realtime SIA v Playtech Software Limited ([2025] EWCA Civ 1472), overturning the first instance decision of Thompsell J and securing a winning verdict for our client. This decision, in combination with the first instance decision, now means that the proceedings cannot continue against any of the original five defendants.
The case involved allegations of breach of confidence, misuse of trade secrets, and copyright infringement relating to alleged confidential information from Playtech's online Horizon platform, said to have been accessed by a former Playtech employee, Mr Veliks.
Our team successfully challenged the first instance judgment, which had allowed the case to proceed in the UK jurisdiction against Realtime SIA and Mr Veliks (the first instance judgment having already concluded that the case could not proceed against another three defendants).
The Court of Appeal held that the law applicable to the claim for misuse of trade secrets was Latvian law and so the pleaded case did not pass through the jurisdictional gateways. This litigation forms part of a broader strategy, including patent revocation proceedings before the Paris Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and patent infringement actions before the Nordic-Baltic Division of the UPC, where we are advising on all aspects and managing the strategic interplay between jurisdictions. Playtech's patent was revoked by the EPO's Technical Board of Appeal on 30 October 2025, effectively bringing the UPC proceedings to an end too, in another victory for our clients.
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer team was led by Andrew Moir (Partner), supported by Heather Newton (Of Counsel), Monika Klajn (Senior Associate) and Sabesh Asokan (Associate).
Commenting on the outcome, Andrew Moir said:
"This case highlights the increasing complexity of IP disputes in the online gaming sector, and the seriousness with which the Court's take applications for permission to serve out,particularly where issues of cross-border jurisdiction arise."
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has a longstanding track record advising clients in the technology sector, including recent matters involving high-tech patent litigation before the UPC and strategic IP enforcement actions across Europe.