CLEVELAND — A roller derby team known as the Cleveland Guardians filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians in federal court to block the team from going by the same moniker.
The Cleveland Indians formally announced its plans to change to the Cleveland Guardians in July.
"There were a lot of challenges to find the right name and then make sure the name was available for use," Paul Dolan, the team's owner and chairman, told MLB.com in July. "It took a lot of time and a lot of extraordinary effort ... I am glad that we've entered the phase now where the name is out there and we can begin to promote what will be our future. That's actually exciting."
A statement from the Indians communications office said the organization believes there are no conflicts with the baseball team using the name.
“We have been and continue to be confident in our position to become the Guardians," the statement said. "We believe there is no conflict between the parties and their ability to operate in their respective business areas.”
The suit, Guardians Roller Derby v. Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company LLC, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio this week, claims the Guardians roller derby team registered its name with the State of Ohio in 2017.
“Major League Baseball would never let someone name their lacrosse team the ‘Chicago Cubs’ if the team was in Chicago, or their soccer team the ‘New York Yankees’ if that team was in New York – nor should they,” Christopher Pardo, a partner at law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP and lead attorney for the plaintiff, wrote in a statement.
“The same laws that protect Major League Baseball from the brand confusion that would occur in those examples also operate in reverse to prevent what the Indians are trying to do here," Pardo continued. "By taking the name ‘Cleveland Guardians’ overnight, the Indians knowingly and willfully eviscerated the rights of the original owner of that name – the real Cleveland Guardians.”
The Cleveland Indians filed for federal trademark protection for the name “Cleveland Guardians” on the same day the name change was announced. The roller derby team then also filed for federal trademark protection four days later on July 27.
The lawsuit alleges the baseball team contacted the Guardians in June, inquiring about the team’s intellectual property pertaining to the use of “Guardians.”
The court documents state the Guardians told the Cleveland baseball franchise it would be open to selling the rights, giving the baseball team the Guardians name and the roller derby team would rebrand. The Guardians felt the offer the team made wasn’t enough.
After the Guardians made a counteroffer, the team and its owner, Gary Sweatt, claims the Indians never responded to its emails.
"On June 22, 2021, Mr. Sweatt therefore emailed the Cleveland Indians' lawyer and made it clear that if the club still wanted to use the CLEVELAND GUARDIANS name, it needed to buy out the Cleveland Guardians' rights and the roller derby team would then rebrand," according to court documents filed by the roller derby team.
The roller derby team claims the change is now disrupting their business, facing struggles with selling merchandise and having suppliers refusing to fulfill orders due to concerns over property rights.
“As a nonprofit organization that loves sports and the city of Cleveland, we are saddened that the Indians have forced us into having to protect the name we have used here for years,” Gary Sweatt, the owner of Guardians Roller Derby, said in a statement released via Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. “We know we are in the right, however, and just like our athletes do on the track, we will put everything into this effort at the courthouse.”
The lawsuit also alleges the Cleveland Indians lied to the patent office about not knowing about the roller derby’s team name.
The Cleveland Indians have not responded to Spectrum News 1’s inquiries.
The team will officially make the switch over to the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.