Claiming an @handle from Iceland

The Instagram route from Iceland

A mark registered with Hugverkastofan, or an international registration that names Iceland, is the clearest paper for Instagram’s intellectual property form. Iceland is in the EEA but not the EU, so an EU trade mark on its own does not cover it. A company entry in the Register of Enterprises, kept by Iceland Revenue and Customs (Skatturinn), shows the business exists under the name, but it is not a trade mark and works as background only.

The four official routes are set out in the routes guide and compared on the routes comparison.

Then TikTok and Snapchat

Icelanders are usually known by a first name and a patronymic such as Jónsdóttir or Sigurðsson, so impersonation reports often turn on a first name plus a father’s or mother’s name rather than a family surname. TikTok and Snapchat claims go through their trademark and infringement forms, and each platform decides its own requests.

Handle limits for both are on the TikTok rules and Snapchat rules pages.

Proof to gather before you write

For a request from Iceland the useful evidence is a mark on the Hugverkastofan register or an international registration that designates Iceland, a Register of Enterprises record that matches, or proof that a profile is posing as you. The preparation checklist lists the rest: the exact handle, the profile it is for, and what ties the name to you.

Never send a password or a login code. Nobody who needs one is working through an official route. See claim scams.

Four steps from first message to filing

1. You send the handle you want and the profile it is for, on WhatsApp or email, and say you are in Iceland.
2. We look at whether an official route fits the facts and tell you if it looks workable.
3. The price is agreed in chat before any work starts.
4. The request is filed with each platform’s process. The platform makes the final decision, and a claim that fails is covered by the refund policy.

Offices and laws named on this page

• Trade marks: the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office (Hugverkastofan).
• Personal data: the GDPR through the EEA Agreement and Act No. 90/2018 on data protection, with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority (Persónuvernd) as the regulator.
• Consumer and advertising matters: the Consumer Agency (Neytendastofa).
• Languages: Icelandic.
• Currency for the price: Icelandic krona (ISK). The price is agreed in your chat or email before work starts.

These are reference points, not legal advice. A platform’s decision on a handle follows its own policy.