The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has filed a federal lawsuit against prediction market operator Kalshi, accusing the company of using Liga MX trademarks and club names without authorisation.
Filed on 22 September in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the complaint seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and financial compensation, including profits allegedly generated through the unauthorised use of the federation’s intellectual property.
FMF argues that Kalshi’s use of Liga MX branding could mislead customers into believing the exchange has an official relationship with the league or its clubs. The federation also objects to Kalshi using its competition data to determine the outcomes of sports event contracts.
The federation maintains that it has never authorised Kalshi to use its trademarks, club names or competition data for these purposes.
Repeated Demands Fail to Resolve Trademark Dispute
The disagreement began on 17 July, when FMF General Counsel Rafael García Job sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter demanding the removal of Liga MX branding, club logos and other protected trademarks from its platform.
Kalshi responded on 21 July, arguing that its use of league and club names qualified as nominative fair use because the terminology was necessary to identify the sporting events covered by its contracts.
The company subsequently removed certain logos and introduced disclaimers but continued displaying the disputed names. Kalshi General Counsel Richard Heaslip considered the matter resolved, according to the complaint.
FMF renewed its demands on 27 July. Kalshi Head of Litigation Jovalin Dedaj responded on 6 August, maintaining that the exchange used the names solely as plain-text identifiers for markets regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The federation then appointed US law firm Blank Rome LLP, which issued another cease-and-desist letter on 18 August, giving Kalshi 10 business days to comply.
Kalshi rejected the federation’s position again on 1 September, prompting FMF to pursue legal action.
Kalshi Defends Its Use of League and Club Names
The disagreement centres on whether Kalshi can identify the subjects of its sports contracts using protected trademarks without obtaining permission from the rights holder.
In its September response, Kalshi compared its use of Liga MX branding to financial institutions such as Vanguard and JPMorgan referencing Apple when identifying investments linked to the technology company.
FMF disputes that reasoning, pointing to other sporting events that Kalshi identifies without using their official trademarks.
The complaint notes that the exchange refers to Major League Baseball as Pro Baseball, uses generic descriptions for the Super Bowl, identifies MLB teams by city and labels UFC events as MMA.
Kalshi maintains that the same approach would create confusion for Mexican football markets because several cities have clubs competing across different professional divisions. The company argues that league and club names are needed to identify the relevant teams and competitions accurately.
FMF rejects that justification and is seeking court intervention to prevent further use of its intellectual property.
NCAA Trademark Dispute Provides Earlier Precedent
The lawsuit follows a separate disagreement between Kalshi and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) over the exchange’s use of protected college basketball terminology.
Earlier in 2026, the NCAA challenged Kalshi’s references to March Madness, Sweet Sixteen and Final Four, along with market descriptions suggesting that the association officially verified contract outcomes.
Kalshi subsequently removed the disputed terminology and replaced it with generic descriptions, including Men’s College Basketball Champion. The disagreement was resolved without litigation.
Unlike the NCAA dispute, the Liga MX disagreement has reached federal court after Kalshi continued using the league and club names despite repeated objections.
The FMF lawsuit also differs from Kalshi’s other ongoing legal disputes, which largely concern whether state gambling laws apply to sports event contracts offered through its federally regulated exchange.
The latest case instead focuses on trademark rights and the extent to which prediction market operators can use protected sporting names to identify their contracts without authorisation.
The court has yet to determine whether Kalshi’s use of Liga MX trademarks constitutes infringement or qualifies as nominative fair use.