Overview
- FlightAware filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday seeking unspecified damages and temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions and requesting a jury trial.
- The company alleges Kalshi used FlightAware’s data, name and trademarks to verify outcomes of flight-cancellation markets without permission and continued that use after receiving a cease-and-desist.
- Kalshi has denied violating FlightAware’s license and claimed its references are nominative fair use, it added a disclaimer saying the markets are not endorsed by FlightAware and has not yet filed a formal court response.
- FlightAware says the listings led customers to assume an endorsement and that the contracts create financial incentives that could encourage attempts to disrupt or influence air travel, raising safety and reputational concerns.
- The case adds an intellectual-property and contract dispute to Kalshi’s broader legal battle with multiple states over unlicensed gambling and with the CFTC over federal jurisdiction, and its outcome could shape whether platforms may rely on third-party data and branding without a commercial agreement.