Can you trademark a hashtag?
Hashtags within social networks revolutionized the marketing world as they created a way in which people can find and learn about one’s product or business. Understanding how to utilize a hashtag within the trademark world presents a set of benefits that are important to familiarize oneself with.
It is common to wonder whether trademarks have an effect within social networks when using them with a hashtag, especially when small companies try to broadcast themselves using marketing strategies with their logo, phrases, or names. Tiana Mann explains that there are no specific rules pertaining to the use of hashtags in relation to trademarks.
The way in which one differentiates a product or business within the market is how people often define the concept of a trademark. Hashtags can be categorized within the category of trademarks, however, they still have to undergo distinguishable analysis that any other word mark would go through.
What the experts thinks
Tiana Mann believes that the way people connect with one’s products or business on social media quickly and efficiently provides a platform and sense of exposure. For example, if she uses the Indie Law hashtag while working with them, it is being used correctly. In a contradicting sense, if she were to use the hashtag while she has nothing to do with the law firm, she could mislead potential clients as she is utilizing a trademark that does not belong to her.
By using a hashtag that does not belong to a trademark, people could find the trademark that does belong to it and come across information that does not necessarily have a correlation with that company or product. This could be considered a benefit to registering a hashtag and also contributes to the value in getting advice from a marketing and legal specialist when attempting to determine whether or not it’s a trademark.
So … what is the verdict?
The definitive answer is yes, you can trademark a hashtag. One will need a prior analysis to categorize it and to know if there are any conflicts, as well as to understand how much it affects one’s business to make it an asset in one’s marketing strategy.
Unfortunately, if someone has already used your brand’s hashtag, it will not be deleted from social media platforms. Since the owners of the platforms are not government by the laws of a single country, it will remain on the internet as its international presence complicates its removal process. Business owners have the duty to find the best hashtag for their company so that potential customers can access it.
It is the responsibility of entrepreneurs to research which hashtags they want to utilize for brand promotion in order to trademark it.
Notable brands like Apple or Nike are very aggressive in defending their marketing assets, their logos, and their slogans. It is crucial to their consumer engagement and consumer usage of the logos and slogans allows for their brand to reach more at a faster rate.
Content strategy is a crucial component of how one uses hashtags, as it is necessary to generate valuable content in order to achieve the best possible consumer reach.
It is important that one is clear on what their goal is when using a hashtag. One should ask themselves how they plan to use it, what platform it will be on, and what one wants to achieve with it. These are all questions that should be asked before moving forward to register a hashtag as a trademark.
