When then-President Donald Trump announced his intentions to create a space-focused branch of the United States military in 2018, there was no way to know that it would eventually garner controversy from something as simple as its name. The United States Space Force (USSF) was officially recognized in December 2019, but months prior, the show Space Force was greenlit for a 10-episode run on Netflix.
Space Force centers on General Mark R. Naird (Steve Carell), serving as the fledgling military branch's first Chief of Space Operations. He's surrounded by quirky characters and, more importantly, seemingly endless obstacles as he tries to get his department up, running and capable of following the president's orders. The show unsubtly parodied current-day politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chuck Schumer, and poked fun at the U.S. government and military (though critics were largely unimpressed and found the satire underwhelming).
Meanwhile, the actual Space Force has gotten off the ground but with little fanfare. Like the Air Force, it's overseen by the Secretary of the Air Force, who in turn is overseen by the Secretary of Defense. There are less than 7,000 people in the Space Force. They operate 77 crafts, working with the Global Positioning System and military satellite constellation, spaceplanes, missile warning systems and networks for space surveillance and Satellite Control.
The show and the actual military branch have been in conflict over which can trademark the name "Space Force," but the show seems to be winning. In the United States, two separate entities may have the same name and "be allowed and extended the protection of law" provided they exist in separate industries and spheres. However, the issue becomes more complicated if both properties try to produce merchandise (therefore existing in the same industry).
United States trademark law grants ownership on a first-to-use basis instead of first-to-file. This means that even though the military branch filed an intent-to-use application in March 2019, trademark ownership goes to the TV show for producing merchandise first. Netflix also secured a copyright for the series in Australia, Europe and Mexico, and applied to trademark "a wide range of products." Netflix has worked to secure the name "Space Force," while the military branch seems to be dragging its heels.
Another interesting development is the proposal to change the name of the Air National Guard to the Air and Space National Guard -- the National Guard referring to the reserve component of the military -- therefore eliminating the Space Force's separate reserves. The concern seems to stem from the potential expense of creating a separate Space Guard, but it doesn't seem to bode well for the Space Force on the whole.
Representatives from the Space Force seem unconcerned about the issue, saying, "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." This contradicts many earlier articles and reports that there was, in fact, a copyright battle between the show and the military branch.
Space Force has already released official merchandise through sellers like Kohls and Hot Topic. Other independent sellers like Etsy, Redbubble and TeePublic also offer Space Force items. Save a specific military brand, Military Republic, most merchandise with the military Space Force's logo or affiliations seem to be made by independent sellers, which indicates that Netflix seems to have come out on top.