Domain names are a type of intellectual property; they direct users to your digital territory. With the rise of social media, handles have become the newest version of digital territory. Just as domain names exist within multiple top-level domain names (.com, .net, etc.), handles exist within multiple platforms. That is, you need to separately acquire a handle from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. Unlike TLDs, these various platforms have unique attributes and identities, so each company has a different set of platforms that it may wish to occupy. (As an example, my firm would have very little interest in having a presence on Snapchat.)

One challenging aspect about social media handles is that there is no one entity or set of rules that governs proper ownership of the handles. Each platform has its own rules. However, there tends to be a system within most platforms that respects trademark rights or at least attempts to avoid confusion on the platform.