India Attempts to Curb U.S. Yoga Patents

Yoga is currently a $225 billion industry worldwide, since it was introduced to the West during the 1960s and 1970s.  Furthermore, there are currently 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights, and 2,300 trademarks.  However, many in India are currently taking issue with the patenting of Yoga poses in the U.S., and have even gone so far as to call this phenomenon, “Yoga theft.”

According to OneIndia, the number of yoga teachers in America has increased during recent years.  These instructors have started filing patent applications, so that they can claim traditional Indian poses as their own.  However, India has launched a mission to add these traditional yoga poses to “India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.”  So far, 600 poses have been added.

Supposedly, India’s “Traditional Knowledge Digital Library” is being checked by foreign patent offices to check whether a claim is genuine or if it is a variation of a traditional pose.

So what’s next for those wishing to stop this “yoga theft?” A team of “Yoga Gurus” from acclaimed schools have joined government officials and scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.  This group will scan 35 ancient texts to register each pose that belongs to India.