#OwningTheConversion - How To Trademark A Hashtag For Your Business

In recent years, the question that I am asked over and over again when it comes to trademarks and ownership is — can I trademark my hashtag? I used to say no (unless it fell into a specialized category) for a good reason. But with the evolution of hashtags on the internet, I now give the standard lawyer answer of “it depends.” Here’s why.

Hashtag Evolution

When social media exploded in the early 2000s, no one knew it’s potential. But as time wore on, it seems like everyone realized that they had the power to create and monetize content at the same time. So much so that people began to blog, vlog, post, and tweet all the time. In fact, a recent study indicates that users upload an average of 95 million photos to Instagram every day. And that’s just on one platform.

Originally hashtags started on Twitter. They were used as a way to categorize conversations on a particular topic, not unlike an online folder. Users were able to follow or add their own content to a discussion on a specific to…