Santiago Nieto Castillo, general director of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Battle)he assures that they work in a plan and laws to sanction and prevent the sale of “pirate” merchandise of the World Cup 2026 in the immediate vicinity of the Azteca stages, the Chivas and the Iron Giant.
“In the industrial protection reform initiative presented by the president of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the ambush marketing (ambushed marketing) is being regulated, which means the fight against (for the sale of ‘pirate’ merchandise) in the vicinity of the stadiums,” he tells Forbes Mexico.
Lee: Asian countries affected by Sheinbaum tariffs sold more than 5,194 millionaires to Mexico
FIFA has requested to regulate ambush marketing to countries where a soccer World Cup has been carried out, so they have legislated the phenomenon to avoid the sale of “pirate” merchandise, says the official.
With the incorporation of ambush marketing to the Federal Law on Industrial Property Protection, commercialization will be prevented in the vicinity of the stadiums or the FAN FEST of products that are not one of the sponsors of the 2026 World Cup, recalls the former head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held for the first time in three countries with Canada, Mexico and the United States as hosts. In addition, it will be the biggest edition, since 104 games will be played with 48 national teams.
The Azteca Stadium will be the headquarters of the opening match of the World Cup and with it it will become the first stadium to house three inaugural matches of World Cup fair. While in the Guadalajara stadium and the Monterrey stadium will also develop meetings of the football contest.
FIFA manages a global licenses program that offers fans the opportunity to participate in tournaments and acquire official memories.
However, there are companies that produce articles with the intellectual property of FIFA without obtaining the necessary license.
Lee: They rule out that a tractocamion factory leaves Mexico for Trump’s tariffs
Falses are usually identified by their low quality and can be sold with a different brand or not presenting the correct authentication characteristics of official products (such as the FIFA licensed official licensed product logo in hanging or sewing labels, holograms, legal notice).
“Pirate” products can vary from clothes to toys, from football balls to stationery, and from footwear to memories like pins, World Cup keychains, replicas of the World Cup trophy and other items that include intellectual property of FIFA.
The behaviors are easily identified as unfair competition, so they must be violated.
“The FIFA requested the registration of 200 registered trademarks to use during the 2026 World Cup, including pets that will be used in the United States, Canada and Mexico during the sports fair,” says Santiago Nieto Castillo.
The chosen pets are Maple, who is a red shirt goalkeeper with number 1 and represents Canada. Another is Zayu, a striker with Dorsal 9 and green uniform and is linked to Mexico. And one more is Clutch, a midfielder with the number 10 in blue and represents the United States.
The brands recorded by FIFA are linked to the word Cup, World Cup, North America 2026, which seek the protection of all projects related to the sports fair.
The official recalls that they work with Gabriela Cuevas, representative of Mexico for the FIFA 2026 World Cup, so that the IMPI participates with the FIFA in projects that promote the denominations of origin and the geographical indications during the World Cup.
Lee: The customs law proposed by Sheinbaum can damage the operations of companies in Mexico, alerts the index
The plan is that during the World Cup the Tequila, Mezcal, Sotol, Talavera, Amber and Café are promoted, he adds.
“The idea is to promote the 18 products that are denomination of origin nationwide and 19 geographical indications,” concludes Santiago Nieto.
