We recently announced changes to how usernames and display names will work on Discord. For more information on the philosophy behind this update to usernames, you can read a message from our co-founder about why we’re changing things up now.
You may ask yourself, “What if I want to incorporate my brand's trademark into my username but it is already in use by another account?” That is a great question, and hopefully the reason you are reading this article right now, because we have an answer!
We encourage trademark holders to use a server as the home of their brand on Discord. Servers are the space where community happens on Discord. Whether that’s an organic group of friends playing games together, or customers and fans coming together to celebrate their love of an artist, brand or product, servers are where mutual experiences are shared by like-minded communities.
Discord usernames, however, are how users express themselves and choose to be known within their communities, or amongst their friends. For many Discord users, their username reflects a personal choice, not necessarily a desire to trade on the username for commercial purposes.
For these reasons, the mere use of a word or phrase in a username that might have trademark protections does not mean the username is an automatic infringement of a trademark.
Of course, Discord respects the trademark rights of others. We expect the same of our users, and take appropriate actions when presented with valid complaints. If you believe an account is in fact engaged in commerce or is trading on their username in a way which suggests they are the holder of your trademark, you can notify us by filing a report using the trademark complaint form.
If you submit a trademark complaint regarding a username, please identify specific activity carried out by the reported account indicating that the username is engaged in commerce or traded on in a misleading manner which suggests they are acting as the holder of your trademark. You can find information on how to identify specific channel ID(s) and message ID(s) in this article.
Discord will not take action on a complaint for trademark infringement regarding a username if a complaint fails to identify any of the above conduct. If you encounter a user who is impersonating an individual, group, or organization in a deceptive or harmful way, you may also report this behavior to Discord using the in-app reporting flow. Please note that you will need to report the specific message where this deceptive or harmful impersonation is taking place.