Earlier this year, the Cleveland Indians announced that they’d be formally known as the Cleveland Guardians in 2022 and moving forward. But taking a new name is turning out to be more complicated than it seemed.
The roller derby team that also calls themselves the Cleveland Guardians decided to sue the MLB franchise in an attempt to stop the change. They had the name since 2013 before formally registering it in 2017 and believe the Indians’ decision to adopt it constitutes trademark infringement.
According to the lawsuit, detailed by ESPN, the roller derby Guardians argue that there “cannot be two ‘Cleveland Guardians’ teams in Cleveland.”
Among their demands is a request that the MLB team abandons the plans to call themselves “Guardians” while also launching a campaign to inform the public about it. In case that the Indians decide to carry on with their plans, the roller derby team wants funds that they could use on “corrective advertising.”
The MLB franchise and the roller derby team were reportedly already engaged in negotiations about the name rights but couldn’t reach an agreement. This ended up prompting the lawsuit.
The Cleveland Indians have already responded to the lawsuit with a statement in which they confirmed they are sticking with “the Guardians” name.
“We have been and continue to be confident in our position to become the Guardians,” the MLB team said in a statement. “We believe there is no conflict between the parties and their ability to operate in their respective business areas.”
While the roller derby Guardians had the name first, it is unlikely that the lawsuit will be successful since the two teams play different sports and the confusion isn’t likely to happen. The most likely outcome, however, is a settlement before the case even makes it to court.
