Bikram Yoga ‘s Attempt To Own “The Sequence” Is a DownDog!
by
Stephen M Stern on Jan. 05, 2016
Intellectual Property Copyright
Summary: Bikram Yoga ‘s Attempt To Own “The Sequence” Is a DownDog!
For all you Yogi’s, you can get go DownDog without fear of a cease and desist letter from Bikram Founder, Bikram Choudbury. It seems the the man who created “The Sequence”, a specifically orchestrated 26 pose flow in a 105 degree heat, bent backwards to stop other yoga studios from sharing the chakra love. Choudbury, who had allegedly amassed millions through his 600 franchisees and teacher training sessions based on The Sequence, believed he owned a copyright to the moves and sued Yoga To The People to prove it. This action prompted the U.S. Copyright office to issue a new edict that yoga poses were not subject to being copyrighted — just as a choreographer can’t own a dance step or a heart surgeon can’t own the process to repair the bad ticker. As a result, it looks like Bikram may have to take the decision laying down — in the final resting yoga pose, also called corpse pose — Shavasna.