#trademarks – Can you own a hashtag TM? (Legal Road Map® Podcast S3E73)
Legal Road Map®: copyright, trademark and business law info for online entrepreneurs · Autumn Witt Boyd
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (traffic.libsyn.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Hashtags are everywhere these days. It may seem appealing to register one that you use in your business as a trademark, but is it even possible?
In this week's episode you'll learn:
- How to figure out if you're really using a hashtag as a trademark
- Why using your hashtag outside of social media may help you protect it as a trademark
- The downsides to registering your trademark with a hashtag instead of just the words
- Why a registered trademark hashtag is really difficult to enforce
Key takeaway: It takes some special circumstances to make the time and effort needed to register a hashtag as a trademark worth it. Consulting with a trusted legal advisor ahead of time can help you determine if you're ready to take on the task or not.
Visit www.awbfirm.com/podcast73 for a transcript and show notes, and sign up to get a free 5 Minute Intellectual Property Audit worksheet. You'll learn how you can make more money from the copyrights and trademarks in your business (you can also sign up there to be the first to know when new episodes are live and receive other legal updates and special offers from the AWB Firm).
Resources:
Get your free ticket NOW for the Online Course Success Summit, classes will be live Feb. 11-22: http://awbfirm.com/ocss/
This podcast is information, not legal advice specific to your situation.