Editing Inline skates (section)

=== Rollerblade as a noun ===

[[File:Google Ngram-Rollerblade,rollerblading,in-line skating,inline skating,roller skating-Not case sensitive-1970-2022-chart.png|thumb|right|340px|Usage stats of "inline skating" vs rollerblading and roller skating]]

From 1979 through 1990, when referring to his skates in patent applications, Scott Olson called his skates simply "roller skates", "street skates" or "hockey skates".<ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=4492385
|fdate=1982-07-21
|pubdate=1985-01-08
|gdate=1985-01-08
|title=Skate having an adjustable blade or wheel assembly
|inventor1-first=Scott B.
|inventor1-last=Olson
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=D325417S
|fdate=1990-07-16
|pubdate=1992-04-14
|gdate=1992-04-14
|title=Skate having an adjustable blade or wheel assembly
|inventor1-first=George E.
|inventor1-last=McNamara
|inventor2-first=Scott B.
|inventor2-last=Olson
}}</ref> "Rollerblade", as a trademark, was filed on July 25, 1984 with the USPTO, with a first use date of March 1983.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1326171&caseType=US_REGISTRATION_NO&searchType=statusSearch
|title=Trademark record: ROLLERBLADE
|website=United States Patent and Trademark Office
|access-date=2025-01-08
}}</ref> But when promoting them in the early 1980s, "Rollerblade" was often used as a noun for this new type of skate, exclusively sold by Ole's Innovative Sports. For instance, the 1985 book edited by [[Chris Middlebrook]] and published by the company, was titled ''Rollerblades: Dryland Training for Ice Hockey'', with a plural "Rollerblades".<ref name="rollerblades-dryland-training-1985"/> The Oxford English Dictionary dates the earliest printed uses of "Rollerblade" to the publication of the trademark in 1985 by the USPTO Gazette, and to this 1985 book.<ref>{{cite book
|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordenglishdic0000unse_s1d3/page/339/mode/1up
|title=Oxford English Dictionary: Additions Series
|volume=3
|page=339
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|location=Oxford
|year=1997
|access-date=2025-01-08
|editor-first1=Michael
|editor-last1=Proffitt
}}</ref>

[[File:Inline skating at a skate park-IMG 8461-stillframe 15-FRD.jpg|thumb|right|340px|Rollerblading at a skate park]]

By the late 1980s, Rollerblade, as a company, started to relabel roller skating of this style as "in-line", in order to preempt "rollerblading" from becoming a new verb.<ref name="international-companies-vol34-rollerblade"/> This was reflected in Brennan Olson's 1987 patent, which he titled "In-line roller skate with frame".<ref name="brennan-olson-1987-patent-modern-inline-skates">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=4909523
|fdate=1987-06-12
|pubdate=1990-03-20
|gdate=1990-03-20
|title=In-line roller skate with frame
|inventor1-first=Brennan J.
|inventor1-last=Olson
|assign1=Rollerblade Inc
}}</ref>

By 1990, newspapers and the media had generally adopted "in-line skating" as the name of this new recreational sport.<ref name=nyt-1990-craze-outsprint/><ref name=Shevelson-golden-days-of-skating/> In 1991, Rollerblade Inc. used "in-line" in the subtitle of its official guidebook ''Wheel Excitement'': "Official Rollerblade® Guide to In-Line Skating".<ref name="feineman-wheel-excitement"/> In the same year, "Rollerblade In-Line Skate Association" (RISA) was founded, but quickly changed its name to the International Inline Skating Association (IISA) shortly after.<ref>{{cite news
|author=<!--not stated-->
|date=1991-04-27
|title=On a Roll: the new 'in-line' skates offer balance, maneuverability and a good aerobic workout
|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1991/04/27/on-a-roll-the-new-in-line-skates-offer-balance-maneuverability-and-a-good-aerobic-workout-and-theyre-lots-of-fun/
|work=Orlando Sentinel
|location=Orlando, Florida
|access-date=2024-12-23
}}</ref><ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|4}}

When comparing modern inline skates to the 2x2 Plimpton roller skates, enthusiasts referred to the latter as "quad skates". But the term "quad skates" never took hold among the masses.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = Quads vs. In-Lines
| url         = https://www.networkistics.com/sample/asufoundation/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1990-July-Roller-Skater.pdf
| magazine    = Skaters
| volume      = 1
| number      = 1: Premier Issue
| date        = June–July 1990
| pages        = 37–42
| location    = Mt. Morris, IL
| publisher   = CFW Enterprises, Inc
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240619204436/https://www.networkistics.com/sample/asufoundation/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1990-July-Roller-Skater.pdf
| archive-date = 2024-06-19
| access-date = 2024-12-20
}}</ref>