Should Actor Register His Name?

Dear Rich: I'm starting out as an actor. What's the best way to get a trademark on my name? If you are just starting out as an actor, you'll probably have a few hurdles to registering your name at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Your big challenge is demonstrating that the public associates your name with acting/entertainment services -- a tall order for someone who's just starting out. The Trademark Manual For Examining Procedure (TEMP) explains the requirement here, and provides other details on registering performing artist names.  Also, you cannot register the name of a living person without their consent so you will need an affidavit for that purpose. (Here's an article we wrote about registering family names).
Do you need to register your name? Many actors have acquired trademark protection for entertainment services -- for example, Robin Williams, Clint Eastwood, Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock. But the vast majority of actors don't register their names as trademarks (including Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and Dustin Hoffman)  because there's usually little need for trademark rights for movie actors unless they are offering a non-entertainment business such as a line of perfume or fish and chips. In addition, you don't need to worry about someone else registering your name. Living persons must consent to use of their name, so for example, the USPTO routinely prevents registration of well-known celebrities by profiteers seeking to cash in. Typically, actors find reasonable protection via actor's unions -- for example, one goal of the Screen Actor's Guild, (SAG) is to steer new registrants away from using any names that appear in their database (including derivatives, for example "Tommy Cruise").

Needs Actor Release

Dear Rich: We will be seeking funding on Kickstarter, Indie GoGo, Rocket Hub, etc. for a musical we want to film/record this summer. We have a licensing agreement with the composers; the story has been written to their music. We authored/copyrighted the play (book) although we've borrowed plot points/character profiles from Shakespeare--pretty sure that's okay. Our plan is to film the musical on stage. We will press a limited number of CD's/DVD's since we are only paying actors and crew a stipend for their participation. What type of releases would you recommend we will need from the actors?     When it comes to the permissions needed for making films, we usually consult our favorite reference, Clearance & Copyright: Everything You Need to Know for Film and Television. Assuming you're not using a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) contract, author Michael Donaldson recommends including a clause like the following in the actor's agreement:

Rights: Producer shall own all rights of every kind in the results and proceeds of Actor's services hereunder. Producer shall have the unlimited right throughout the universe and perpetuity to exhibit the motion picture in all media, now, or hereafter known. Actor's services are a work for hire.

By the way, Donaldson also recommends getting similar "work for hire" contractual assurances from the crew working on the film. Check out his book for more information.