Wow! Such a wonderful conversation!
Okay...Intellectual Property is concidered to be anything performed, but not always written, and can also be video documented. The date and times have to be recorded on the bottom of the footage, but this helps for those spontaneous creation moments we all have, and is admissable in court. I found this out when a, get this one, producer I worked for claimed to own my material because in his contract it said that all intellectual property was covered by copyright, and he meant his!
In many areas what we are really battling is "spontaneous creation", when two artists claim that they created the same thing at the same time in two different places, with minute variations. It has happened, alot, and if it can not be compromised on then it comes down to who said or did it first, which with copyright is a pain because it covers complete works, not ideas or even items which are similar (how many musicians have gotten away with having something "similar" but so close to the real thing it went to court?). This happened to a friend of mine, and neither won the suit. It was concidered, I think she called it, spontaneous creative genius, and both their copyrights stood on something very nearly identical. I see it as motivation to 1) unfortunately, not share more than the intermediates that everyone does or routines I could care less about and 2) keep on the top of my game. All aspects of performing, and indeed, creation, seem to be this way...or at least have been since my professional involvement 11+ years ago.

Trademark vs. Servicemark. They are an expensive investment to be sure. You have to do public searches which can be quite costly to make sure no one else has it. Trademark is for actual companies that produce items..Kellogg's, Proctor and Gamble, etc. They give you something tangable in exchange for money...or trade you. Riz and Tobasco could use Trademarks for their shops. Servicemarks are for those who provide a service, but not items. A plumber, a production company, an electrician...etc. Performers fall under this category. What it does is protect your name from being used by others on a national scale. A D.B.A. will do that on a local scale and an LLC or incorporation can do that on a state scale. This way others can't really go around and trash your rep. by using your name. However, I have not seen a performer with a Servicemark (this little r in the circle, like the tm or c) but I do know many national production companies who have it. These both will also protect not only the name but the writing of it, the logo, etc. For example, Toy's R Us recently went after a mom-n-pop shop which did tires called Tires R Us with a backward "r", and won because of the similarities to their Trademark. However, Cirque Du Soliel went after several performance companies that use Cirque in their title and lost because the presentation was not similar nor was the overall title. Very nitpicky stuff we are dealing with.
I am still not sure how I feel about these. I looked into getting my production company servicemarked, and now that I am producing shows in the south, I think there is more of a need, but I am still debating.


And I wanted to speak for a moment on branding. I completely agree with Willow and Roger on the benefits, but let's not downplay the drawbacks as well. I have seen people who are unsafe and slipshod performers who have talked such a good game that everyone thought they were wonderful. Marketting plays a huge part in branding, and if you never intend to perform in the same venue twice, then it is all good. (My example of this is the Suicide Girls current Burlesque Tour, which was not Burlesque at all and minimally entertaining. They have a brand that makes you think quality, so they pack the house and deliver substandard.) Reputation-Branding is huge, but as a part of marketting, not as a point of quality control or protection I feel.