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| I've heard rumors that Bikram and Open Source Yoga have settled their case but have no idea of the outcome. Do any teachers know? I'm curious. |
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| Part of the settlement does not let me tell you. They will come out with a statement. I can barely understand it. Need to get help.
Edited by innerline 2005-05-06 10:51 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State | Well, let us know the details once they are public....
... who gets the better deal?
Edited by Bay Guy 2005-05-07 12:25 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
This has just been posted on the OSYU Web Site:
Bikram Choudhury ("Bikram") and Open Source Yoga Unity ("OSYU") announced today that they have settled the litigation between them involving OSYU's claim that Bikram's copyrights and trademarks relating to BIKRAM YOGA are invalid, and that Bikram engaged in copyright misuse by sending out cease and desist letters. The parties have reached a mutually satisfactory resolution of their differences, and the lawsuit has been dismissed.
Both sides expressed their pleasure that they have put this matter behind them, and look forward to working together in the future to continue to bring the benefits of yoga to the world. |
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| I'm guessing that the end result will be that Bikram will have the right to exercise control over any studios that use his (brand) name but he can't copyright the asanas or even the sequence.
It will be interesting to see if they address the use of non-affiliated studios promoting Bikram teacher certifications. |
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| Please excuse my ignorance, I haven't been following this closely. I totally agree that Bikram has the right to control his own name, and that studios who are not affiliated should not use it. I don't see how he could claim copyright on the poses (or how he could control that, how would he know if I did his sequence in my home without paying anybody?).
But, if a Bikram teacher were to work at a studio w/ teachers from other traditions, could the studio not advertise "We have Bikram Yoga with Jenny, Kripalu Yoga with Dan, and YogaFit with Kelly!" Would that be lawsuit material?
Or does the lawsuit just address the fact that the above studio call itself "Kalamazoo Bikram Yoga" when only 1 of 7 teachers is trained/certified by Mr. Choudhury?
Just curious! And nosy!  |
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| Jean:
Just look back in the form and you can find plenty of discussions on the lawsuit.
There is nothing on Biram's site. Does anybody have details of the settlement agreement or is it a non-disclosure type deal.
I hope not, that wouldn't be too "open" of open source yoga. |
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| Yes - it would be ironic if they couldn't reveal the settlement, considering that was part of their complaint. They wanted to know what settlement Bikram & (Morrison's?) had reached, claimed it was important for the yoga community to know. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | It rather creates the impression that the OSYU "collective" was just
a few studio owners who were out for themselves. When you consider
that the identifiable complaintants include one or two big operators
and some smaller players (some of whom are now out of business),
you might conclude that a deal was cut on behalf of the big fish.
I have a friend who does litigation --- their impression was that Bikram
probably knew he'd lose in court whereas OSYU didn't want to spend
the money that it would have taken to go to trial. That's just speculation,
of course.
Bikram's web site has now dropped all mention of the copyright on the sequence....
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| I took a class with Jimmy Barkan when I was in Florida in March. We were chatting about the lawsuit in the changing room after class and he was very confident that he'd win. He said that they had found a book (I forget which one) published several years before Bikram's book that had the heart of the sequence exactly replicated - something like cobra through rabbit, pose for pose. I wish I could remember the exact details. |
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| Mitch - 2005-05-10 10:08 PM
He said that they had found a book (I forget which one) published several years before Bikram's book that had the heart of the sequence exactly replicated - something like cobra through rabbit, pose for pose. I wish I could remember the exact details.
No kidding?! That is really interesting! Has anyone else out there heard this and if so, what's the book? |
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| Bay Guy - 2005-05-10 9:59 PM
It rather creates the impression that the OSYU "collective" was just
a few studio owners who were out for themselves.
I Bikram's web site has now dropped all mention of the copyright on the sequence....
Yes - it does smell that way, doesn't it? Was there a lot of mention of the copyright issue on the website before or just a blip? (I know -- bad Bikram teacher, not paying enough attention to the website!) |
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| According this this: http://swamij.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=840
The settlement was more in Bikram's favor. |
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| That statement barely said anything.
I tend to agree with Bay Guy that the sealed settlement creates the impression that the OSYU "collective" was just a few studio owners who were in it for themselves which incidentally was Bikram's first line of defense when he unsuccessfully tried to have the case thrown out of court.
This was posted on the OSYU website:
UPDATE - May 3, 2005 - CASE SETTLED
Bikram Choudhury ("Bikram") and Open Source Yoga Unity ("OSYU") announced today that they have settled the litigation between them involving OSYU's claim that Bikram's copyrights and trademarks relating to BIKRAM YOGA are invalid, and that Bikram engaged in copyright misuse by sending out cease and desist letters. The parties have reached a mutually satisfactory resolution of their differences, and the lawsuit has been dismissed.
Both sides expressed their pleasure that they have put this matter behind them, and look forward to working together in the future to continue to bring the benefits of yoga to the world. |
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| That's the same statement posted at the top of this thread. |
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| Oops! Yup, BG had diligently posted it earlier.
Maybe Open Source Yoga may provide some details once the dust settles.
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| I spoke to one of the teachers here in LA who is close to the action and learned a couple things about the settlement.
Bikram and OSYU agree to stop suing each other.
Studios with certified teachers can use the word Bikram descriptively to describe their classes but cannot "brand" themselves as a BIKRAM studio unless Bikram allows it in their contract.
If Bikram wants to sue someone who isn't in on the settlement, he has to send them a copy of the settlement so they can sign on and be protected/obligated by it's terms.
Studios with teachers that are not certified have to put some kind of notice in their materials specifically stating that they are not certified by BIKRAM.
I don't know if there's anything more to it but this sounds really reasonable to me. BC gets to keep his brand, nobody suing over who owns asanas, small players get to be part of the settlement. Doesn't sound like a huge victory for either side although it sounds like OSYU got what they wanted. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | This doesn't exactly address the copyright claim, although it sounds as if one
can easily obviate its enforcement under these terms.
For example, suppose someone teaches "hot yoga" using either the Bikram
sequence or one very similar to it. Under the terms of this settlement,
can one avoid infringement simply by acknowledging that one is not
certified by Bikram?
And what about Bikram's "dialog"? Surely that remains protected?
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| Bay Guy,
I believe you are right. All of the copyrights still stand but the settlement renders them virtually unenforceable. It seems to give certified bikram teachers broad rights to teach the sequence and use the dialog or any derivations. I believe they can teach Bikram yoga any way they see fit and even call it Bikram yoga as long as they arent' branded that way. Not sure what branding means though. |
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| I'm not a lawyer, but I do know about branding. I'd think that certified teachers can advertise that very fact - that they are teachers certified by Bikram. I don't imagine that they'd be advertising Bikram Yoga - they'd probably advertise "hot hatha yoga" with a trained bikram instructor.
Having an non-franchised studio advertising "Bikram Yoga" would (potentially negatively) affect his brand. If they vary the sequence, alter the dialog, or change the room design/heat, they would be providing customers with a non-Bikram experience while calling it Bikram Yoga.
It's the McDonald's theory - I can go anywhere and I know what I'm getting. If you put bacon on a Big Mac, you're not a McDonald's.
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| Hi,
I am a graduate student in anthropology in California and am studying yoga as a transnational practice - part of this is looking at how yoga studios and franchises operate. I have been following the OSYU v. Bikram case and just wanted to let people know that I am floating around and looking into the IP issues associated with traditional knowledges (I intend to use it as a platform to look at problems in property and legal systems). I was wondering if anyone would be interested in talking to me more about Hot Yoga and their practice in a most general sense.
thanks! any help would be greatly appreciated. Allison |
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| Bay Guy - 2005-05-10 9:59 PM
It rather creates the impression that the OSYU "collective" was just
a few studio owners who were out for themselves. When you consider
that the identifiable complaintants include one or two big operators
and some smaller players (some of whom are now out of business),
you might conclude that a deal was cut on behalf of the big fish.
Exactly. This says it pretty well: From eweek.com: "OSYU's apparently altruistic act of draping itself with the mantel of the open source movement now seems crafty and disingenuous. The true state of matters has emerged and it's just business as usual. The OSYU is just another set of pragmatic business people who cut the best deal they could for themselves. When it was time to reach a settlement, openness was the first casualty."
Hmmph.  |
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| Cat Mom,
From what I've heard about the settlement, Bikram has to send a copy of the settlement to anyone that he tries take action against and allow them to become a party to the settlement at that time. That seems like a settlement that applies to all players, not just the OSYU members. |
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| In it's website OSYU says it is a non-profit organization and solicits donations for its cause. I am sure the donors may want to know what happened in the settlement. This is from OSYU's website:
Open Source Yoga Unity (OSYU), a nonprofit California corporation, was formed to provide a common voice, and the pooling of resources, to resist the enforcement of the copyright protection of any Yoga style thereby ensuring its continued natural unfettered practice for all to enjoy and develop.
While we appreciate the teachings of Bikram Choudhury and other yoga teachers, we do not believe that they have the legal right to impose control over another's Yoga teaching or practice. Yoga exists in the public domain.
For hundreds, even thousands of years, the wisdom of yoga has evolved and grown in the hearts and minds of teachers and students.
We encourage the free flow of information, including the wisdom of yoga, to all people.
1. Make a donation
OSYU will require energy, cooperation, time and money. We have formed this group in order to pool resources and so that we go through this process only once. The stronger and more effective we are as a group, the sooner we can do away with this fear and uncertainty unnecessarily associated with our businesses and yoga practice. OSYU is in the process of securing tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and any financial contributions made to OSYU are expected to be tax deductible once it achieves this status. You may send a donation in any amount to:
Open Source Yoga Unity
P.O. Box 192444
San Francisco, CA 94119
Alternately, your studio can make a contribution to OSYU using a business credit card by means of the PayPal system.
It is suggested that an appropriate donation is an amount equal to a six month pass to your studio. |
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| yogalicious - 2005-05-17 11:09 PM
Cat Mom,
From what I've heard about the settlement, Bikram has to send a copy of the settlement to anyone that he tries take action against and allow them to become a party to the settlement at that time. That seems like a settlement that applies to all players, not just the OSYU members.
So how do you know if you're putting yourself in a true position to be sued by Bikram? |
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Legal Settlement
