Who "owns" an event?...

[Ankesh]

So I've had some experience with events.

You can own the name of the event.
You can't own the format.

(I would recommend against trademarking look and feel because just a tiny change in the look and feel can circumvent your trademark.)

However, if your first event is a hit - you can set it up so that you can license your event name.

Thats what TED.com ended up doing. They saw that many folks were starting their own TED type events where each presentation is 18 minutes long. So instead, they created a licensing deal. You can organize TEDx[event] instead of your own [event]. They will help you with organizing. And you in return help them become even more popular.

So only 2 things you can do to safeguard yourself:

1. Register your event name into an LLC.
2. Make sure your first event is a hit.

Nothing else will help.