The Cleveland Guardians roller-derby team and the Cleveland Guardians baseball team reached an agreement to end their legal spat, clearing the way for the MLB team to proceed with its name change from Indians.
The announcement of an agreement came this morning from the derby team’s legal counsel in the former of a very terse statement:
“The Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company, LLC and Guardians Roller Derby are pleased to announce an amicable resolution of the lawsuit filed by Guardians Roller Derby, whereby both organizations will continue to use the Guardians name.”
The counsel also announced neither side would be commenting on the settlement.
In July the Cleveland front office announced it was moving from the Indians branding and instead embracing the Guardians name, inspired by the helmets and wings of the Hope Memorial Bridge’s Guardian statues near Progressive Field. According to attorneys for the roller-derby team, the Indians front office was aware of a possible conflict and sought to buy the derby team’s intellectual property rights, including its social media accounts and the clevelandguardians.com domain name, offering what derby officials deemed a “nominal” buyout. As a result, Guardians Roller Derby v. Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company LLC, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
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