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Mexican Soccer Federation Sues Kalshi Over Use of Liga MX Trademarks: A Comprehensive Legal Breakdown

By jili tutorial · September 24, 2026

Mexican Soccer Federation Sues Kalshi Over Use of Liga MX Trademarks: A Comprehensive Legal Breakdown

Overview: The Clash Between Sports Trademarks and Prediction Markets

A months-long dispute between the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and Kalshi, a U.S.-based prediction market platform, has escalated into a federal lawsuit. The case, filed on September 22 in the Southern District of New York, raises critical questions about how far prediction markets can go in using trademarked sports league and team names to identify the contracts they offer. This article provides a deep dive into the dispute, the legal arguments on both sides, and the broader implications for the sports betting and prediction market industries.

Background: What Sparked the Conflict?

The Parties Involved

The Core Dispute

FMF alleges that Kalshi has been using the Liga MX trademark and the names of individual clubs (e.g., Club América, Chivas Guadalajara) on its website and mobile app without authorization. These names are used to label prediction markets for Liga MX competitions, such as “Which team will win the Liga MX final?” FMF argues that this unauthorized use:

July 17: First Cease-and-Desist Letter

FMF’s General Counsel, Rafael García Job, sent Kalshi a formal cease-and-desist letter demanding that the platform:

July 21: Kalshi’s First Response

Kalshi’s General Counsel, Richard Heaslip, replied, arguing that the company’s use of the Liga MX name and club names qualified as nominative fair use. Under U.S. trademark law, nominative fair use allows a party to use a trademark to describe the product or service it offers, as long as:

Kalshi partially complied by removing some logos and adding disclaimers (e.g., “Not affiliated with Liga MX”). However, it continued to use the plain-text names of the league and its clubs. Heaslip then informed FMF that the matter was “closed.”

July 27: FMF’s Second Demand

FMF rejected Kalshi’s partial compliance and reiterated its demand for full removal of all Liga MX and club names.

August 6: Kalshi’s Second Response

Kalshi’s Head of Litigation, Jovalin Dedaj, again invoked nominative fair use, stating that the company’s use was limited to “plain-text identification” for its CFTC-regulated markets. The company argued that this was necessary for customers to understand what each market was about.

August 18: Blank Rome LLP Steps In

FMF brought in the U.S. law firm Blank Rome LLP to handle the dispute. The firm sent Kalshi a third cease-and-desist letter, giving it 10 business days to fully comply.

September 1: Kalshi Maintains Its Position

Kalshi once again rejected FMF’s demands, leaving the two sides at a deadlock. This failure to resolve the dispute outside of court led FMF to file its lawsuit on September 22.

What FMF Is Seeking

FMF has asked the court for:

  1. A temporary restraining order (TRO): To immediately halt Kalshi’s use of the Liga MX trademark and club names while the case is pending.
  2. A preliminary injunction: To extend the TRO until a final decision is reached.
  3. A permanent injunction: To permanently bar Kalshi from using the trademarks.
  4. Monetary damages: Including profits that FMF alleges Kalshi earned from the alleged infringement.

Key Arguments in the Complaint

Kalshi’s Defense: Why It Believes It Is Within Its Rights

The Nominative Fair Use Argument

Kalshi’s primary defense is that its use of the Liga MX name and club names is nominative fair use. The company argues that:

The Apple Analogy

In its September 1 response, Kalshi offered an analogy to support its position. The company compared its use of the Liga MX mark to how investment firms like Vanguard or JP Morgan use the Apple trademark to identify stock investments. For example, a fund might be labeled “Vanguard Apple Stock Fund” to clearly indicate what it tracks. Kalshi argued that just as these firms use “Apple” to describe a financial product, prediction markets use “Liga MX” to describe the subject of a contract.

FMF’s Counterargument: Why the Analogy Doesn’t Hold

FMF rejected Kalshi’s analogy, pointing out that Kalshi has already found ways to identify other sports without using protected trademarks. The complaint highlights several examples:

EventKalshi’s Generic TermTrademarked Name
Major League Baseball“Pro Baseball”“Major League Baseball”
Super Bowl“Pro Football Champion” or “The Big Game”“Super Bowl” (trademarked by the NFL)
MLB ClubsCity names only (e.g., “New York,” “Los Angeles”)Club names like “Yankees” or “Dodgers”
UFC Events“MMA”“UFC” (trademarked by Ultimate Fighting Championship)

FMF argues that if Kalshi can describe these events without using trademarks, it should be able to do the same for Liga MX. Kalshi’s response is that Liga MX clubs in Mexico often share city names (e.g., both Club América and Cruz Azul are based in Mexico City), so using only a city name could confuse customers about which team a market covers.

Historical Precedent: The NCAA and March Madness

The Liga MX dispute is not the first time a sports governing body has challenged Kalshi’s trademark use. Earlier in 2023, the NCAA asked Kalshi to stop using trademarked terms like:

How the NCAA Dispute Ended

Unlike the FMF case, Kalshi complied with the NCAA’s request and avoided litigation. The platform:

Why This Matters for the Liga MX Case

The NCAA precedent suggests that Kalshi is willing to make concessions when faced with trademark challenges—but only if the requesting party pushes hard enough. FMF, however, is seeking a court ruling rather than a settlement, meaning the case could set a binding legal precedent for how prediction markets can use sports trademarks.

Broader Implications: What This Case Could Mean for the Industry

1. A Test of Nominative Fair Use for Prediction Markets

The central legal question is whether using a sports league’s trademarked name to identify a prediction market qualifies as nominative fair use. If the court rules in favor of Kalshi, it could open the door for prediction markets (and potentially sports betting platforms) to use league and team names without licenses, as long as they add disclaimers. If the court rules for FMF, it could require platforms to develop generic alternatives, potentially making it harder for customers to understand what they are betting on.

2. Impact on Kalshi’s Business Model

Kalshi is already fighting legal battles with state regulators over whether its sports event contracts violate state gambling laws. A loss in the trademark case could force Kalshi to:

3. Potential Ripple Effects for Other Sports Leagues

If FMF wins, other sports leagues (e.g., the NFL, NBA, Premier League) might be emboldened to file similar lawsuits against prediction markets and betting platforms that use their trademarks without permission. Conversely, a Kalshi win could lead to a wave of fair-use claims by platforms seeking to use trademarks for identification purposes.

4. The Role of CFTC Regulation

Kalshi is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has approved its sports event contracts as legal derivatives. However, federal regulation does not automatically grant immunity from state or intellectual property laws. The lawsuit will test whether CFTC-approved markets can still face trademark challenges.

What to Watch For in the Coming Months

Potential Outcomes

  1. Settlement: Kalshi could agree to remove Liga MX and club names, similar to the NCAA resolution.
  2. Court Ruling for FMF: The court could issue a permanent injunction, forcing Kalshi to pay damages and stop using the marks.
  3. Court Ruling for Kalshi: The court could find that the use qualifies as nominative fair use, allowing Kalshi to continue.

Conclusion: A Landmark Case for Sports and Prediction Markets

The Mexican Soccer Federation’s lawsuit against Kalshi is more than a trademark dispute—it is a test case for how intellectual property law intersects with the rapidly growing prediction market industry. As platforms like Kalshi expand into sports, they will inevitably clash with leagues and clubs that see their brand names as valuable assets. The outcome of this case could shape the rules of engagement for years to come, determining whether prediction markets can use sport-specific language or must resort to generic alternatives.

For now, Kalshi continues to offer Liga MX markets while the legal process unfolds. But if FMF succeeds in court, the platform—and others like it—may have to rethink how they describe the very products they sell.