Can Hashtags Be Trademarked?

What exactly are hashtags?

If you have spent any amount of time on any social media platform in this last few years, there are three facts that you will absolutely agree with. Firstly, a social media is an indispensable marketing channel for most businesses today. Secondly, the social media platforms are constantly developing online marketing tools to help businesses reach their existing and potential customers. And thirdly, hashtags have emerged as one of the most innovative marketing tools on all social media platforms!

Hashtags are words or phrases that are preceded by the hash sign ("#") on social media platforms. You must have really came across some of these hashtags: #shareacoke, #mcdstories and #oreohorrorstories. As suggested by the use of the word 'tag', hashtags help in identifying content on a specific topic by adding a label of a kind. The main intention behind using a hashtag in some content is to have maximum number of people to view that content.