Yoga poses and sequences of poses are exercises and not subject to copyright law protection, announced the United States Copyright Office recently. "Exercise is not a category of authorship in section 102 and thus a compilation of exercises would not be copyrightable subject matter," according to the Office's statement of policy. The policy made clear that the selection and arrangement of otherwise uncopyrightable matter is not subject to copyright protection.
Under Section 102 of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(a), works of authorship that can be protected by copyright law are limited to:
(1) literary works;
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
Section 102 also prohibits copyright protection for compilations that amount "to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work." 17 U.S.C. § 102(b).
The policy explains
"[W]hile such a functional system or process may be aesthetically appealing, it is nevertheless uncopyrightable subject matter. A film or description of such an exercise routine or simple dance routine may be copyrightable, as may a compilation of photographs of such movements. However, such a copyright will not extend to the movements themselves, either individually or in combination, but only to the expressive description, depiction, or illustration of the routine that falls within a section 102(a) category of authorship."
To read the Copyright Office's full Statement of Policy, click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
