Can we legally own a hashtag?
Sandton - Hashtags are used in all forms of social media but can we legally own them?
On 19 May, the following hashtags were trending on Twitter, #thursdaythoughts, #egyptair, #crash and #chrisbrown.
These hashtags are an indication of what the majority of people are talking about on social media. In recent months, many hashtags such as #feesmustfall, have trended on many forms of social media.
But what if an individual wants to legally own a clever hashtag because it has gone viral and is trending?
Sandton-based attorney, Tyrone Walker, explained that this would be very difficult as one could not stop a person from using a certain hashtag in a sentence on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or any other form of social media.
“No third party may have exclusivity to the hashtag as it is a generic term, hence, everyone uses it on social media,” explained Walker.
However, he said there had been an increase in hashtags being protected by means of trademarks. A third party may have exclusivity to the hashtag combined with a brand or name, for example, #cocacola.
“It would be difficult to stop someone from commenting using the hashtag, #cocacola, though, especially on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook,” explained Walker. This has, therefore, put companies in a predicament because, in the expansive world of social media, it is difficult to control what people are writing.
“Some companies that we act on behalf of, protect their brands with the hashtag because they see a lot of value in it for their brands. However, other companies do not see any value in this because their campaign will be short-lived,” concluded Walker.
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