Bikram Yoga: Copyright for a Pose?

A well-known and now famous yogi, Bikram Choudhary started his first studio in San Francisco in 1973. Bikram Yoga studios followed suit to over 900 studios across the U.S.; the poses are unique, and designed for a variety of skill levels. Recently, Bikram began a claim that use of Bikram yoga poses and teachings is violation of proprietary information. His concern was that most of the 5,000 year old teachings he features are unique to the Bikram style, and cannot be imitated without his consent.

Bikram Yoga is a growing and popular yoga style coined by master yogi Bikram Choudhury. He is a guru, a practitioner of the ancient art of Indian yoga that incorporates a steam-room type setting. Participants are pushed to the max with a focus on deep and heavy breathing, challenging poses, combined with sweltering heat. The trend has flourished in recent years, and is a fantastic mind and body workout.

Back in 2004, the suit was filed and pending further action. In 2005, a federal judge did rule in Bikram’s favor. Spurring this notion of protecting key and ‘product-worthy data,’ a variety of Indian-based medicinal practices (such as the use of herbs and spices), other yoga techniques, and medicinal cures have begun to undergo an exclusive filing system into an Indian database. The development of the National Knowledge Digital Library is a project originating in India to protect valuable historical information, such as Bikram Yoga, against patents and copyright laws. India is effectively attempting to protect other historical yoga data in a similar fashion.

America is notorious for its copyright laws, strict penalties for infringement, and general policy-making for property and product innovation. It is likely one of the top countries in the world that honors and effectively administers adequate copyright law, protection, and enforcement. The classic cases that spurred the Internet Information Act bought to light further measures for intellectual property, the exchange of information, and designating authentic ownership to the appropriate parties. When it comes to information sharing, the lines turn grey when there is a lot of history involved; how do we designate what is considered ‘new’ information, and what is ‘authentic’ and taught? How can an industry of information that is essentially passed down from generations classified, and where does true ownership begin?

Yoga is an Indian tradition that has furthered its roots into a variety of cultures. The basic techniques are similar, but each type of study develops and evolves over the years. Hinduism relies heavily on yoga practice as part of a daily routine; styles include Prana, Hatha, Kundalini, Bhakti, and Mantra-Yoga amongst others. Western interest into natural and holistic approaches to healthcare, medicine, and exercise have increased the practice of Yoga across the U.S.; however, today it looks like we may be looking forward to a ‘Yoga product’ or even ‘Yoga brand.’ With the patents and copyright restrictions, Yoga itself may soon become mainstream enough to be a prepackaged exercise routine. American may witness a real challenge in balancing the effectiveness and adequate enforcement of patents, copyright protection, and enforcement. In the meantime, India continues to consolidate and collect its databank of historical information for its future generations.