Pilates exercise and Bikram Yoga

Joseph Pilates invented Pilates exercise in the 1930s under the name Contrology. But he never managed to trademark the name "Contrology" or "Pilates" or set up a governing body for Pilates exercise. Without a governing body, "Pilates exercise" became genericized. Anyone can claim to be an expert in Pilates exercise, and there is no universally recognized accreditation for schools that train Pilates exercise instructors.

Bikram Choudhury (pronounced like "chowdery") decided to avoid this generic fate for his hot yoga system by choosing a sequence of 26 poses and copyrighting the sequence as a dance. Choudhury has used this copyright in Bikram Yoga to harass other teachers of hot yoga, much as The Tetris Company has used Elorg's copyright in Tetris.

BumpityBoo and his mommy are fans of Bikram Yoga.