1 JAMES P.

I{ARRISON (#194979) z 3
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Attorney at Law Floor 980 9th Street,16'n CA 95814 Sacramento, (916) 492-977 8 Telephone: Attorney lbr Plaintiff Open SourceYoga Unity

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DISTRICT UNTTED STATES COURT NORTHERNDISTRICTOF CALIFORNIA

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OPEN SOURCE YOGA LTNITY, a California Corporation, Plaintiff,

VS.

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CaseNo. COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

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Defendants. BIKRAM CHOUDHURY, an individual, and DOES I THROUGH 20,

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Plaintifl' hereby alleges as tbllows:

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1. JURISDICTION AND VENUE This Court hasjurisdiction of the subjectmatterof this action under 28 U.S.C.

Section1338and 15 U.S.C. Section1119. As is more fully shownbelow,this disputeconcerns

2 0 the validity and enforceabilityof Defendant'scopyrightsand trademarks. 2l

2. Venue is proper in this District as a substantial part of the eventsgiving rise to

22 this action occurredin this District and Plaintiff Open SourceYoga Unity is a residentof this
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District. PARTIES 3. "OSYU") is a Plaintiff, Open SourceYoga Unity, (hereinafter California

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26 Non-Profit Corporation with the statedpurposeof communicating and defending the idea that no 27 form, style or routine of Yoga is proprietaryand that Yoga can not be owned,transferued, 28 franchised,trademarkedor copyrighted. OSYU is registeredas a business with the City and

1 Countyof SanFrancisco, hasthe business address of 50 Califomia Street,Suite 1500.San

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Francisco, Calilbrnia 94lll and the mailing address of P.O.Box I 92444.Sanlrrancisco, California94119. Membersof OSYU includeYoga instructors, Yoga students and businesses in Yoga training. Membersof OSYU residethroughoutthe United Statesand engaged worldwide. 4. "Bikram") is an individual Defendant,Bikram Choudhury,(hereinafter

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doing business as "Bikram's Yoga Collegeof India" with a principalplaceof business locatedin

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Los Angeles,California. Bikram owns, or is affiliated with, severalhundredYoga studios, mostly within the United States. STATEMENT OF FACTS 5. In or about 1978,Bikram published a book entitled"Bikram's BeginningYoga

Class," ISBN 1-58542-020-4, for which he receiveda copyright. In or about2000, Bikram

1 3 publisheda secondedition of "Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class." t4

6. On or about March 4,2002, Bikram hled a supplemental copyright applicationto

1 5 "Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class" for authorshipof a sequence of Yoga positionsand breathing T 6 exercises which is identified by the United StatesCopyright Office as application"March 5, t7 18 I9
2002,TXu-1-022-657." 7. In or about 2002, Bikram filed applications with the United StatesPatentand

TrademarkOffice to obtain trademarkregistrationfor Bikram Hot Yoga, Bikram's Yoga College

20 of India, Bikram's Beginning Yoga Classand Bikram Yoga. 2l

8" On or aboutJune 17, 2002, Bikram filed a complaint,with a demandfor jury

22 trial, for copyright and trademarkinfringementin the United StatesDistrict Court for the Central
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District of California, CaseNo. SA02-565(the "Bikram lawsuit"), againstKim Morrison and

24 Mark Morrison, the ownersof Yoga Studio,a Yoga teachingfacility locatedin CostaMesa, 25 California. A true copy of the complaint is attachedhereto as Exhibit A and incorporatedherein 26 as fully set forth. 27 28

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'fhroughout2002, Bikram, throughhis attorneys, served cease and desistletters

includingthoseownedand operated on businesses, by members cif OSYIJ,engaged in teaching what Bikram viewed as his proprietarystyle of Yoga. Among other thinks, Bikram objectedto employing Yoga instructorsthat had not been their violating his copyrightsand trademarks, certified by Bikram himself, teachingothersto becomeBikram Yoga instructors,and for advanced classes.A true copy of sucha cease and desistletter,served teaching upon a member hereinas fully set forth. of OSYU, is attachedheretoas Exhibit B and incorporated 10. On February5, 2003,Bikram's Yoga Collegeof India issued a pressrelease,

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by meansof their official websitewww.bikrarnyoga.com, statingin part as follows: "With greatpleasurewe would like to announce that Bikram recently secured federalcopyrightregistration under 17 U.S.C.Section 410 for his originalwork of authorshipin his asanasequence of 26 posturesand 2 breathingexercises.... In addition to exact copying of the sequence, the copyright prohibits othersfrom creating'derivative' works of the sequence. Virtually all modificationsor additionsto the sequence will constitutecopyright infringement,including: the postures; unauthorizeduse of even a small numberof consecutive the addition of different posturesor breathingexercises to the sequence or portions of the sequence; the teachingor offering of the sequence with or without the Dialogue; or by the addition of extra elements to the sequence, like music. Bikram will be entitled to receivean award of statutorydamages of up to $150,000per infringementand can also recoverhis attorneys'feesfrom infringers in lawsuits concerningcopyright infringementof the sequence." A true copy of the pressreleaseis attached heretoas Exhibit C and incorporated hereinas fully

pressrelease 1 8 set forth. As of the date of this action,the attached was still maintainedby Bikram

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and availableat the "In the News "section of Bikram's Yoga College of India's official website. 11. On or about February24,2003, OSYU filed articlesof incorporationwith

California's Office of Secretary of State. 12. On or about June 13, 2003,the "Bikram Lawsuit" was settled. The terms of the of the settlement, the Court before settlementare confrdential,however,because which that Lawsuit was pending did not addressand resolve the copyright and trademarkinfringementissuesin dispute. 13. As of the date of this action.Plaintiff OSYU doesnot know of any lawsuit on file,

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OSYU v. BIKRAM. Comnlaint For Declaratorv Relief

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Court, in which the copyright and trademarkinfringcmcnt issucsirr in any stateor f-ederal dispute,and allegedherein, areat issue. As a result of'thesetransactions and occurrences, there is an unresolvedcontroversy. DECLARATION SOUGHT 14. In orderto resolvethis controversy, Plaintiff requests that,pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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the respective rightsand dutiesof the partiesin this matterand, Section220I, this Court declare in particular,declareas follows: a. That no individual style of Yoga can be the subjectof intellectualproperty protectionbecause all Yoga exists,and has existedfor thousands of years,in the public domain; b. That no Yoga style, routine,or accompanying verbally communicated dialogue, meetsthe requirements, as set forth in 17 U.S.C. Section 102,of materialthat can be copyrightedunder the laws of the United States; c. d. That no part of a routine of Hatha Yoga identified as Bikram Yoga is original; That Bikram owns neitherthe exclusiveuse nor control of any Yoga style or routine; e. That an Open SourceYoga Unity members'verbal and I or demonstrational teachingof any Yoga style, whetheror not for profit, can not violate any copyright; f. That Bikram's trademarksare unenforceablebecause the term "Bikram Yoga" has beena freely and commonly usedconvenientdescriptionwithin the Yoga community for more than two decades to describea routine of Hatha Yoga in a heatedroom and that any restriction of the use of that term would be contrary to 15 U.S.C. Sections1064and 1127because the term is senericand was abandoned by Bikram;

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OSYU v. BIKRAM, Complaint For Declaratory Relief

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That any use of the term "Bikram Yoga" by an Open SourceYoga Unity member to advertisetheir servicesdoesnot violate any trademark;

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of a Yoga instructor, Yoga Unity member'semployment That an Open Source that had not beencertified by Bikram himself, to teachBikram Yoga doesnot violate any copyright or trademark;and

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That an Open SourceYoga Unity member'steachinganotherto becomea Bikram Yoga instructorsdoesnot violate any copyright or trademark.

PROPRIETY OF DECLARATION A valid caseand controversyexistssufficient for this Court to declarethe rights

thereare,and therewill continueto be, a substantial and remediesof the partiesherein,because

that are uncertainas to whetherthey are violating copyright and 1 2 number of Yoga businesses operations.Further,Bikram has stateda 1 3 trademarklaws by continuingtheir normal business

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clear intention to litigate what he views as violations of his copyrightsand trademarks. 16. OSYU because OSYU has the requisitestandingto requestthis declaration

1 6 membershave concreteinjuries, this suit is germaneto OSYU's statedpuryose,and the l7

relief doesnot requireany OSYU member'sindividual participation. SeeBiodiversity requested

Cir. 2002). 1 8 Legal Fndn.V. Badglev,284 F.3d 1046,1052- 105319'h

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Bikram has at this time because This controversyis ripe for determination "unauthorized"

his intentionto pursuelegal action to preventany in advance, 20 announced,

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to be his property. commercialuse of a routine of Hatha Yoga which he considers PRAYER WIIEREFORE, Plaintiff praysthat this Court grantjudgment in Plaintiff s favor by

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OSYU v. BIKRAM, Complaint For Declaratory Relief 5

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A declarationas follows:

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That no individualstyleof Yoga canbe the subject of intellectual property protection because all Yoga exists,and hasexistedfbr thousands of years,in the p u b l i cd o m a i n :

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That no Yoga style,routine,or accompanying verballycommunicated dialogue, meetsthe requirements, as setforth in 17 U.S.C.Section102,of materialthat can

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be copyrighted underthe laws of the United States; c. d. That no part of a routine of Hatha Yoga identified as Bikram Yoga is original; T'hatBikram owns neitherthe exclusiveusenor control of any Yoga style or routine; e. That an Open SourceYoga Unity members'verbal and / or demonstrational teachingof any Yoga style or routine,whetheror not for profit, can not violate any copyright; f. That Bikram's trademarks are unenforceable because the term "Bikram Yoga" has beena freely and commonly usedconvenientdescriptionwithin the Yoga community for more than two decades to describea routine of Hatha Yoga in a heatedroom and that any restrictionof the use of that term would be contraryto 15 U.S.C.Sections1064and ll27 because the term is senericand was abandoned by Bikram; g. That any use of the term "Bikram Yoga" by an Open SourceYoga Unity member to advertisetheir services doesnot violate any trademark; h. That an Open SourceYoga Unity member'semploymentof a Yoga instructor, that had not beencertified by Bikram himself, to teachBikram Yoga doesnot violate any copyright or trademark;and i. That an Open SourceYoga Unity member'steachinganotherto becomea Bikram Yoga instructorsdoesnot violate any copyright or trademark; 2. All costsof suit including reasonable feesincurred;and attorney's

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OSYU v. BIKRAM, Complaint For DeclaratoryRelief

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Such further relief as this Court may deemproper.

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-) 4 5 6 7 8 9 JamesP. Harrison Attorney for Plaintiff Open SourceYoga Unity Dated:July 9, 2003 THE LAW OF'FICE OF JAMES P. HARRISON

JURY DEMAND
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triableto a jury. trial by jury on all issues YogaUnity hereby demands PlaintiffOpenSource
Dated:July 9, 2003

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OF JAMESP. HARzuSON THE LAW OFFICE

JamesP. Harrison Attorney for Plaintiff Open SourceYoga Unity

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OSYU v. BIKRAM, Complaint For DeclaratoryRelief 7