Yoga Copyright Case Update

The Cyberlaw Clinic has won the first round in its effort to oppose yoga guru Bikram Choudhury's claim to copyright in a sequence of yoga postures. The Hon. Phyllis J. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Open Source Yoga Unity ("OSYU"), the group of yoga instructors the Cyberlaw Clinic is representing, has associational standing to seek declaratory judgment against Choudhury. Judge Hamilton had indicated that she was inclined to rule in favor of OSYU at the end of the standing hearing held last week, where CIS fellow Elizabeth Rader convincingly argued OSYU's position. In her ruling, Judge Hamilton also rejected a number of other arguments raised by Choudhury. The ruling is available on the CIS website at http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blogs/rader/