Netflix could potentially enter a battle with the U.S. government in regards to the trademark for the term “Space Force” reports THR Esq and The Hill.
Netflix launched a Steve Carell-led comedy series of that name the other week to poor reviews, the series partly inspired by an announcement from 2018 from U.S. President Donald Trump who intended to create a sixth military service branch for the Department of Defense dubbed ‘Space Force’.
However it appears Netflix also snagged trademark rights to the name globally as early as January 2019, giving them rights to that name in many countries around the world. In the U.S., the Air Force filed a application for the name only recently – one that’s reportedly still pending.
As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants trademarks based on a ‘first-to-use’ system, the Netflix series already has intellectual property released with branding in place. Where conflicts could arise is over things such as tie-in merchandising.
Attorney Ed Timberlake tells the trade: “Here, the branch is so new, and the executive branch so commercialized, and the commander in chief so attention-seeking, that I’m not sure we can know quite what to expect.”
An Air Force spokesperson says: “At this time, we are not aware of any trademark conflicts with the fictional program ‘Space Force’ produced by Netflix. We wish Netflix and the show’s producers the best in their creative depiction of our nation’s newest branch of the military.”
