[nylug-talk] [!CrackMonkey!] [Fwd: Jon Carroll vs. Bikram] (fwd)

[Jay Sulzberger]

If you want to help in the fight against this nonsense and worse:

http://www.nyfairuse.org

go to the contact page and join us.

If we do not repeal or overthrow the DMCA, private ownership of computers
will be ended within two years, at most.

There are specific NYFU actions every week.  We need volunteers, and though
the discipline is hard, the work is regular and the work is honorable.

oo--JS.



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 13:50:03 -0700
From: Nick Moffitt <nick at zork.net>
To: The Status is that Rob Levin Should Get a Life
    <crackmonkey at crackmonkey.org>
Subject: [!CrackMonkey!] [Fwd: Jon Carroll vs. Bikram]

emad.

----- Forwarded message from Richard Reinholdt <thespian at doitnow.com> -----

Watch your step, I own it

by Jon Carroll
Thursday, May 1, 2003

So today we have the case of Bikram Choudhury, a semi-famous yoga
teacher whose Bikram Yoga, a series of 26 postures performed in a room
heated to 105 degrees, has become immensely popular over the past 10
years.

The poses are based on traditional yogic asanas, but apparently the
rigid order and high heat (because it's hot in India, see, and
therefore . . .  never mind) are original with Choudhury. He trains
Bikram Yoga teachers and offers certificates at $5,000 a pop. There
are 330 Bikram schools worldwide, and his personal fortune is
estimated at $7 million, including a fleet of Rolls-Royces.

And why not? This is America. If McYoga catches on, what's the harm?
Oh, maybe the rigidity and the materialism run counter to the original
philosophy of yoga, but maybe that's some kind of spiritual evolution.
Heck, I can't cross my legs for more than five minutes; what do I
know?

But here's the thing: Choudhury has taken out a copyright on his poses
and is going after studios that teach those poses without paying
royalties. He has decided, more or less post hoc, that Bikram Yoga is
a franchise, and that you gotta pay for the poses the same way
McDonald's franchisees have to pay for the Golden Arches logo on every
damn thing.

He did not, of course, invent the poses. He's not suing people who use
his name without permission; he's suing people who use "his" poses
without permission. Of course, his copyright could be declared
invalid, but by then lots of small yoga studios would have run up a
fortune in legal bills.

Time for some breathing exercises. Remember, you are the air and the
air is you. Just don't bend your knees. We don't wanna get sued.

Imyself, Jon Carroll of the Jon Carroll Column, have recently taken
out a copyright on walking. Not all walking, just the kind where the
heel hits the ground before the toe. I have been teaching this kind of
walking to literally two people for years now.

My daughters have taken the Carroll Brand of Walking and spread its
benefits out into the world. Now a whole new generation is walking the
Carroll way. And I'll bet you're doing it too. Such is my influence.

But where are my Rolls-Royces? This is a question I often ask.

Now, of course, I would not sue you if you want to walk, say, down to
the grocery store. I am not some heartless yoga guru. No, I'm going
after any establishment that has treadmills, any school athletic
program that teaches race walking, and any shoe manufacturer that
produces "walking shoes."

These are the deep pockets, friend. I could break you in the time it
takes to say "Bikram." Where's the fun in that?

Fortunately, we can avoid all this bother. Any of the named parties
could just send me a franchise fee of 1 percent of gross profits, and
we'd have a deal. The licensee would have the right to use the words
"Carroll" and "walking" on any promotional literature.

For an extra sum, they could avoid using the word "Carroll." It's
really their choice.

I'm something of an idealist. I want the world to walk. I just want
everybody to walk in the healthy, approved way -- none of this walking
with just one foot, for instance, or walking with the toes hitting the
ground before the heel.

These are unhealthy practices. They ruin the chi. The feng shui of the
foot is destroyed, sometimes permanently.

I want to relieve people of that pain. I also need a home in Taos. I
can do well by doing good, just like Bikram Choudhury. I wonder if he
walks? He could owe me some dough.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The spirit of good health is within you; please, no personal checks.
A movement is accomplished in six stages, and the seventh brings
return.  The seven is the number of the young jcarroll at sfchronicle.com

?2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/01/DD294983.DTL

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----- End forwarded message -----

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