For all of you yoga entrepreneurs who believe your fabulous yoga positions could be protected by copyright, STOP and think again!
Yoga Poses
The rules just changed, and NOT in your favor. You can no longer prevent other yoga entrepreneurs from using that cool yoga position, e.g., as the downward dog, plank, warrior, or frog poses, because they are not protectable by copyright. Now, anyone can use them.
Until last month, the US Copyright Office issued Certificates of Registration for yoga positions, as part of a larger compilation of work. Now, the Copyright Office recognizes that it made a mistake, and will no longer permit such filings to be registered. A compilation, under Copyright Law, is defined as, “a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.”
So if you are an enterprising yoga studio owner, instructor, or yogi, you will need to come up with other original ideas for monetizing your favorite transcendental or meditative exercise.
What are your thoughts? Join the conversation on my Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, or my website.
Until next time, I’m Attorney Francine Ward keeping you aware and helping you protect what’s yours!
