McGrath, that's something you can do here in the States as well. I believe it's called a "Poor Mans Copyright".

When dealing with a band name, and not a name that appears as an individuals "AKA", I would think it a lot easier. My band has a bank account in it's name. We receive checks in that name. If we had to prove our case that we existed as "The Pyrates Royale", we could produce bank statements for the last 12 years without having to prove incorporation (which, we are not) or copyright (though we are).

However, most individuals will have a hard time opening a bank account in another *individuals* name unless they can produce some ID in that name. With identity fraud being the rampant problem it is, most financial institutions are very cautious about this sort of thing.

I would think that getting some legal advice (as Mmario said) for the area in which you live (as these things will not be the same from place to place) will be the best idea.

As for the Spiderman thing, Nigel... Wow! I remember that as well. The movie was different, however. I think that the original premise was much more clever, though.