Should You Trademark Your Social Media Handle?

Today I'm going  to answer a very common question: should you trademark your social media handle?

Your social media handle can very well be the lifeblood of your business, especially if you have a large following.

You market to your following and people generally just “like” you on social media–that's your brand, that's where you live.

Your social media handle is very valuable real estate. So, to answer your question, yes, but here's the catch: your social media handle has to be used in connection with commerce. That means you have to be selling something–it could be a good or it could be a service, but you have to be selling something in connection with that social media handle.

“Your social media handle has to be used in connection with commerce.”

For instance, if I have a large following and I just use Upscale Law as my social media handle but I have absolutely no connection to my services as a lawyer (no branding that would promote my services), then no, I could not be eligible for treatment protection because I'm merely just out there. I’m kind of just flaunting what I have with no back-end revenue plan,  no connection to build a business, no true brand.

So can you trademark your social media handle?  Yes, as long as it is connected to the use and the sale of goods or services in commerce. It cannot just be a fun place to post. To protect your name, there has to be some attachment to revenue flowing back to you in the use of your social media handle. 

Let me know if you have any questions! If you’d like to chat about our services, feel free to reach out!