Actually, I was discussing this with a group member the other day.
Just what exactly is trademarked at this point? Is "Roller Derby" a
trademark? Jerry Seltzer used to defend RD zealously, even suing a
toilet paper company for using the name in their ads. Is there a
statutory limit to such trade name restrictions? How about the rules
themselves; are they patented? I never liked Mr. Griffith's
apparently baseless promises to bring back his old format (remember
RGY2K?), but he owns the team names and was within his rights to
prevent others from using them. The popularity of the rollergirl
operations demonstrates the game is not yet dead, but also
demonstrates its need to use a "hook," be it histrionics or gals in
stereotypically themed unies, to gain an audience. When RD comes
back (being optimistic by saying "when," here), it will not be on
independent TV stations, which have all the Seinfeld episodes they
need, but niche satellite and/or web-based programming.

--- In bankedtracknews@yahoogroups.com, RedShirtSkater@a... wrote:
>
>
> In regards to your post (below)....
>
> Like everyone else involved in Roller Derby, Mr. Griffiths
would love to
> rebuild the leagues that once were, but in reality, at this point
in time,
> there is just not enough public interest to build on.
> While Dan Ferrari and Lou Sanchez are occasionally able to
promote games
> within their respective leagues, RollerJam was the closest thing
to "the good
> old days" that we will see for a while. The gals out in Texas,
Arizona, and
> other parts of the country that are currently staging skating
events, are
> making a good effort to revive the sport, but without MAJOR
funding, I don't see it
> going much past their local fan bases.
> Of all of the people involved in Roller Derby, I think that
John Hall
> would actually have the best shot at getting a league off the
ground, but even he
> won't attempt it without a minimum of $12,000,000 (12 Million
Dollars) of
> venture capital, and even with that to start with, there is no
guarantee that
> the general public would be as receptive to it as they were in days
gone by.
> In defense of Mr. Griffiths, he is not really being selfish by
not
> selling his league. He could sell his league, but what is there
actually to sell?
> The T-Bird name is about it. There is nothing else to sell. He owns
no arena, no
> Banked Track, and maybe not even any uniforms at this point.
> Like Pro Wrestling, the Roller Derby fan base comes and goes in
cycles.
> There will be high times and dry times. Right now, I see the market
as being
> pretty dry, and no amount of money and/or advertising will BUY us a
bigger fan
> base.
> Within the next few years however, I believe that the efforts
of Dan
> Ferrari, the All-Girl leagues from around the country, and even Lou
Sanchez, will
> eventually arouse enough interest in Roller Derby, to put Roller
Derby and
> the skaters into the pages of People, and other such magazines,
and into
> regular programing on independent television stations all over the
country.
> Well, those are my thoughts on the subject. I welcome all
replys....
> Michael
J. DiVita
>
RedShirtSkater@a...
>
>
> In a message dated 2/5/04 2:14:33 PM Pacific Standard Time,
CeltsCat@a...
> writes:
> I have this question for you fellow posters.. WTH is up with
> Griffiths.. He goes through thsi whole court contest to make sure
> no one can use the tbird name.. He makes shallow promises of
bringing
> back RGI.. And it's 2004.. Whats up with that?? Is he or is he not
> going to revive his long dead league??? If he isn't.. Then I
say
> it's time he sold it to someone who will bring it back to life.
> What does everyone else think??