Yoga and Copyright
A friend, and avid yoga practitioner, once asked me whether a series of yoga postures, or asanas, could be protected by copyright. After all, the Copyright Act explicitly protects choreography which, like yoga, is nothing more than a related series of movements. The postures themselves are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old and firmly in the public domain, but what about a person’s selection and arrangement of those postures? Assuming that arrangement is original would it be protected as a form of choreography?
The most persuasive argument on this issue comes from none other than William Patry, one of the most respected voices on copyright law, who answers the question “no”. 2 Patry on Copyright, § 4:22. Why? What’s the difference between yoga and choreography? Simply put, yoga and other exercise routines are functional and concerned with achieving some health benefit. Choreography and other related arts are purely aesthetic. Copyright law concerns itself only with promoting and protecting the aesthetic expression of ideas and not functional routines – no matter their health benefits or ability to achieve Moksha.
–Matt
