The hashtag, or the # sign followed by a word, was born and spread on social networks starting in 2017, becoming a real distinctive sign and advertising communication tool.
The diffusion has not been unnoticed to companies that have understood its potential and have introduced its use in marketing strategies by registering the hashtag as a trademark.
The difference between hashtag's registration and trademark's one consists in the aim of such registration: the hashtags involve the users-consumers in the initiatives and promotional campaigns related to the product.
In terms of protection, they are both protected against the parasitic initiatives of competitors.
Depending on the specific purposes, the hashtag can be registered both in class 35 and in class 38. In 2013, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially acknowledged that a hashtag can be registered as a trademark only if it serves as a source-identifier of the registrant's goods or services.
Registration allows the holder to object to the commercial use of an identical or similar hashtag by competitors.
In Italy, on the other hand, this practice is spreading over time, in fact the hashtags do not still have a specific discipline; their regulation must be traced back to the general trademark rules.
It is likely that, in the future, the protection of hashtag is set to increase.