Real Space Force Might Have Lost Its Trademark To Netflix's 'Space Force'
The federal government, under the watchful eye of Donald Trump, might have lost the naming rights of their big, fancy new space war department, the Space Force, to the Netflix show of the same name that has a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Trump fancies himself a master negotiator and an expert businessman, but really, his empire was built on branding by lessening his name for us on shitty products that could make him a quick buck. It is, frankly, delicious knowing the walking klan hood, who has more power than he ever had as a TV host, got outmaneuvered by the people who brought you Love Is Blind.
Trump randomly announced the creation of the Space Force back in 2018, then followed it up by not bothering to trademark the name. When The Office's Greg Daniels got his pitch for a satirical take on the creation of the department greenlit, Netflix snatched up the trademark rights all across the world. The U.S. government used to not care much about trademarking their department names until about 2007 when they suddenly cared way too much and established an office of trademarking and branding within the Department of Defense. Either that department dropped the ball on the global naming rights to Space Force, or they just didn't care. Either way, it's beautiful.
Branding issues within the U.S. military have been one of the oddest recurring themes over the past decade. The Hollywood Reporter article that brings us the Space Force trademark news reminds us that only a few days after Osama bin Laden's death, Disney tried trademarking "Seal Team 6." Disney presents a front of smiles and childlike wonder, but peel back that onion a little, and you find they're one of the most cynical companies in existence. They wanted to sell Seal Team 6 shirts, hats, shoes, and, eventually, either shows or movies. The makers of the Humvee sued video game studio Activation for infringing on their trademark by featuring their vehicle in the Call of Duty series. A court ruled that if you don't want your car to be in a war video game, maybe don't make the most ubiquitous war-time vehicle on the planet. Likewise, if they didn't want a comedy show nabbing up their trademarks, then the White House shouldn't have made the entire creation of Space Force a giant joke.
Luis can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Catch him on the "In Broad Daylight" podcast with Cracked alums Adam Tod Brown and Ian Fortey! Check out his regular contributions to Macaulay Culkin's BunnyEars.com and his "Meditation Minute" segments on the Bunny Ears podcast. Listen to the first episode on Youtube!
Top Image: Netflix
