Yoga Sequence Is Not Copyrightable

(October 9, 2015) A sequence of twenty-six yoga poses and two breathing exercises by Bikram Choudhury is not copyrightable because it is an unprotected system or idea.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling throwing out a lawsuit brought by the self-proclaimed “Yogi to the stars.”

According to the appellate court, Choudhury developed over many years of research and verification the 26 poses and two breathing exercises in a particular order, which he calls the “Sequence.” In 1979, he published a book, which includes descriptions, photographs, and drawings of the Sequence, which he copyrighted. The defendants offered yoga classes that Choudhury claims infringe on his copyright.

Choudhury “attempts to secure copyright protection for a healing art: a system designed to yield physical benefits and a sense of well-being. Simply put, this attempt is precluded by copyright’s idea/expression dichotomy, codified by Section 102(b),” the appellate court wrote. For example, “the copyright for a book describing how to perform a complicated surgery does not give the holder the exclusive right to perform the surgery. Like the series of movements a surgeon makes, the Sequence is, as Choudhury tells readers, a method designed to ‘cure, heal, or at least alleviate’ physical injuries and illness. Monopoly protection for such a method ‘can only be secured, if it can be secured at all, by letters-patent.’”

The opinion also notes that the Sequence is not eligible for copyright protection as a compilation, noting that “Choudhury misconstrues the scope of copyright protection for compilations. As we have explained, the Sequence is an idea, process, or system; therefore, it is not eligible for copyright protection. That the Sequence may possess many constituent parts does not transform it into a proper subject of copyright protection.”

Finally, the court said that, because the Sequence is not otherwise copyrightable, it could not be copyrighted as a choreographic work.

Bikram’s Yoga College of India et al. v. Evolution Yoga, LLC, Ninth Cir. No. 13-55763, filed October 8, 2015.