Yes, you can trademark a hashtag, as long as buyers see it as the name of your goods or services instead of a label for a conversation. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office applies the same source-identification test to #BRAND that it applies to BRAND. You can also file before launch: with a genuine plan to use the hashtag, an intent-to-use application lets you show use later, before the registration issues.
A registration gives you federal rights in the hashtag as a brand for the goods or services named in your application, which is narrower than owning the tag everywhere it appears online.
When Does a Hashtag Function as a Trademark?
An examiner looks at what buyers take from the wording. Does it tell them who makes the product or provides the service, or does it tell them what a post is about? A hashtag printed on a hang tag, or displayed as the name of a service on its booking page, can do the first job. A hashtag added to a caption so posts collect in one feed usually does the second.
The USPTO’s examination manual illustrates the difference with two made-up marks. A company that uses #SEWFUN only to gather comments about its sewing classes hasn’t used it to identify who offers the classes. #SKATER for skateboards describes the product, and the hash symbol leaves it just as descriptive.
The symbol adds nothing to wording that is generic, descriptive, or purely informational on its own, so the rules for trademarking a common word or phrase carry straight over to hashtags. When the rest of the mark can be registered, the examiner may still ask you to disclaim the # so you claim no separate rights in the symbol.
Why a Popular Hashtag Can Still Be Refused
A hashtag can spread so widely that people read it as a reference to an event and stop reading it as a brand. In In re DePorter, a precedential registration decision issued January 29, 2019, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the refusal of #MAGICNUMBER108 for shirts. Evidence showed the public used the phrase to talk about the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series after 108 years, so shoppers would read it on a shirt as a message about that championship.
The Board added that even if the applicant had used the phrase first, early use couldn’t change how the public understood it.
How to Register a Hashtag as a U.S. Trademark
Registering a hashtag means filing a federal trademark application for it, and the steps follow the standard USPTO process:
- Search for conflicts. When I run clearance on a hashtag, I search the underlying wording with and without the #, look at related goods and services, and include businesses using similar names without a registration, since unregistered use can create rights too. The symbol rarely changes the overall impression enough to avoid a conflict.
- Decide who owns the mark, what it covers, and your filing basis. The application names what the hashtag brands, such as candles or fitness coaching, and leaves out the social media posts that promote them. File on a use basis if the hashtag already brands what you sell, or on an intent-to-use basis if it will.
- Gather evidence of use. For goods, that means the hashtag on labels, tags, packaging, or a web page where the product can be ordered. For services, advertising can work when it ties the hashtag directly to the service. A campaign screenshot with the tag sitting in a caption usually falls short. A web page specimen needs its URL and the date you accessed or printed it, and mock-ups can’t show actual use.
- File in Trademark Center. An examining attorney reviews the application and may issue an office action that needs a response.
- Get through publication and, for intent-to-use filers, prove use. An approved mark is published so others can oppose it. Intent-to-use applicants then submit acceptable proof of use before the registration issues.
What Does a Hashtag Trademark Application Cost?
The USPTO filing fee for a standard application is $350 per class of goods or services. Surcharges apply when an application leaves out required information ($100 per class) or describes the goods or services in free-form text instead of choosing entries from the USPTO’s ID Manual ($200 per class, plus $200 for each additional 1,000 characters past the first 1,000).
Intent-to-use applicants pay again later: $150 per class to file proof of use, and $125 per class for each request for more time to file it. All of these are government fees, and attorney fees are separate.
Can Other People Still Use Your Hashtag?
Often, yes. Federal trademark law targets uses likely to cause confusion about who makes a product or whether one business is affiliated with or sponsored by another. A fan tagging a photo of your product, or a reviewer discussing it, is using your hashtag to talk about you.
A company that sells under your hashtag, by putting it on its own products or in ads that suggest a partnership with you, may create the confusion the law addresses even if it isn’t a direct competitor. When I review a possible conflict, I look at the goods or services involved, how the hashtag is presented, and what buyers are likely to conclude about the source.
Can You Copyright a Hashtag Instead?
No. The Copyright Office does not register names, slogans, or short phrases, and a hashtag is a short phrase. Original photos, video, or writing you post alongside the tag can qualify for copyright on their own, which leaves trademark as the route for the hashtag itself.
Test the Hashtag Before You Build a Brand on It
Before you put the tag on packaging or service pages, discuss your hashtag with a trademark attorney. I will review the wording, search for conflicts, and assess whether your current or planned use supports a use-based or intent-to-use application.
