UPDATE
September 25, 2013
Though we made a statement on Monday (below) to clarify our approach as it relates to our patent application, we have noted over the past few days that there is much confusion and many misunderstandings.
We have also heard from so many wonderful yogis asking to learn more, to better understand and to get some answers as to what this type of patent application actually means so they can make their own informed decisions as to how they feel about it.
We have heard you. We value you. We respect you.
To clarify many of the comments being made and address your questions:
- We have not sued anyone or filed a lawsuit.
- We are not trying to patent how classes are taught in studios all over the world.
- We are not trying to patent how a teacher might film instruction for their students in their own studio or how one might wish to film a DVD.
- Our patent application deals very specifically with online streaming yoga classes, and in that, it deals with only one of many possible ways to film online streaming yoga classes.
- So what is the YogaGlo way of filming classes? Our patent application clearly outlines that the “look and feel” of a YogaGlo online streaming class is comprised of the following elements that all must be present in conjunction with one another: position of camera, position of the teacher, position of the mats relative to the camera and the teacher, an open corridor down the middle, the teacher must be facing the camera, the students must be facing the teacher, etc. We are not seeking to patent a camera angle. We are not seeking to patent the placement of a teacher in a room (online, offline, in your private studio, in your public studio). We are seeking to patent this one very particular combination of elements for a single online class.
- There is more than one way to film and stream an online yoga class. Many wonderful online yoga businesses film their classes differently and are thriving. Many online yoga customers prefer their look to ours. We aren’t trying to patent how they film their classes. We are simply trying to patent our way of filming online classes.
We hope this helps clarify some of the questions you all have shared with us and helps you understand the landscape we are operating in as well as the intent with which we are seeking such a patent. The vast majority of the yoga businesses that we all engage with have many legal forms of protection in place that you may not be not aware of. Most of these are not regularly shared with the yoga community, so we can understand how disconcerting it can be to think of yoga in this context. But we believe that there is a way to operate with integrity both in the business sphere and in the yoga sphere. They are not mutually exclusive.
We truly believe there is room enough for every yoga company to be innovative and creative and develop incredible online offerings that engage and inspire yogis all over the world. As a yoga business, we have the right to protect a tiny piece of the work that we do and our patent application reflects that.
We understand, however, that every person in the yoga community will have their own perspective and that you may not ultimately agree with our approach. We respect each one of you and know that you will make up your own minds as to where you fall along this spectrum.
Original Statement Published September 25, 2013:
Many of you may already be aware that this was published today.
In response, we want to clarify several points that were misrepresented in this article:
First, we want to make it very clear that YogaGlo has no intention to trademark, copyright or patent yoga itself or how yoga classes are set up and taught. That is not what we believe in and it is not what yoga is about.
We are simply protecting the proprietary filming perspective which makes YogaGlo’s online classes distinct. YogaGlo’s filming perspective was developed to help online users feel like they’re participating in the class from a remote location. People have independently acknowledged and recognized the look and feel of YogaGlo’s videos, including commenting on the unique setup of the classroom. This acknowledgement happened today, in fact, on the very post we link to above. With just a few short descriptors, many commenters immediately identified YogaGlo.
In order to continue to provide our community with this distinctive online yoga class experience at an affordable price, YogaGlo is required to protect its intellectual property, just like any other online business.
Although YogaGlo has already taken steps to protect its online videos, including obtaining both trademark and copyright registrations, we are waiting for our patent to issue. We are hopeful that once our patent registers, we will be able to resolve these matters in a way that protects our intellectual property rights and allows all online yoga services to thrive fairly.
We also want to make it clear that YogaGlo was founded on the principles of promoting more access to yoga, not less, so we support any website that shares this mission.
While we have always valued engaging in meaningful dialogue with our community, we are unfortunately restricted from responding to additional comments on this issue. We hope you can respect our position, now that it has been clarified, and understand that we cannot comment any further on ongoing legal matters.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Derik Mills
