Rollerblading vs. Inline Skating What’s The Difference?

First of all, everyone knows what Rollerblades® are, right? A pair of skates that all wheels are in a straight line, vs. side by side, like roller skates. Well that description is partially true, except for the fact that there are several manufacturers of skates with the wheels that are arranged in a straight line that aren’t called Rollerblades®.

That’s right; many of us are using the term Rollerblade incorrectly. Rollerblade® is a Trademark name for a company that manufactures inline skates. Inline skate is the correct term for any skate where the wheels are arranged in a straight line. So Rollerblade®, K2, Bauer, Tecnica, Salomon, UltraWheels, etc are some of the companies that produce inline skates.

Now when you strap the skates on, and go skating are you Rollerblading®? or Inline Skating……… well again Rollerblading® is an incorrect usage of a name, it's not a verb, so you can’t use the term Rollerblading® to describe what you are doing. The correct term is inline skating, I may be wearing Rollerblades®, but my action is inline skating.

So what is the Big deal about saying it wrong?
In order to protect a trademark, a company is required by the
U.S. Patent Office to make a significant effort to find instances of misuse of the terms associated with the company’s name, such as "Rollerblade" and "Rollerblading". The company is then required to contact the offender an advise them of the incorrect usage. If a company permits their name to be used in common language they could loose their trademark. Companies that have fallen to that fate include windsurfer, aspirin, escalator, cellophane and yo-yo. Xerox and Kleenex are other examples of companies that have to actively protect their trademark.