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YogaGlo Update

yogaglo.com

31–40 of 73 posts

Re: YogaGlo Update

#31
post #5

They said they never sued another company related to this patent, but they forgot to mention they have sent Cease and Desist(s) [1] [1] http://yogainternational.com/article/view/patents-and-lawsui...

That is the point of the patent, isn't it? They have the patent so that no one else can use the same filming style. They don't intend to sue anyone, but if someone is filming in ways that are too similar to theirs, they will try to get them to stop. That can range from polite emails to cease-and-desists.

Re: YogaGlo Update

#32
post #29

Since this is relevant to the tech community let me paint a picture before people start sharpening the pitchforks... I've been meeting with investors recently and one of the most common questions/comments has been - "Why can't someone else just do the same thing? Can a group of Stanford grads build this in a weekend?" This line of questioning is relevant to pretty much all startups today. The reality is, from what I…

It sounds like an easily copyable business is a bad idea and YogaGlo is trying to use bad patents to make a bad idea into a good one.

I agree with your last paragraph and think they require better business execution over patents.

Re: YogaGlo Update

#33
post #29

Since this is relevant to the tech community let me paint a picture before people start sharpening the pitchforks... I've been meeting with investors recently and one of the most common questions/comments has been - "Why can't someone else just do the same thing? Can a group of Stanford grads build this in a weekend?" This line of questioning is relevant to pretty much all startups today. The reality is, from what I…

Your business being easily copyable is not a 'wrong' that should be righted by the legal system. That's a really, really nutty notion.

Re: YogaGlo Update

#37
post #5

They said they never sued another company related to this patent, but they forgot to mention they have sent Cease and Desist(s) [1] [1] http://yogainternational.com/article/view/patents-and-lawsui...

They are also wording their defense very carefully:

"[people claim] YogaGlo will now try to shut down any business or individual teacher that films a yoga class, which again is not true. There are many ways to film a class as evidenced by the many videos that currently exist that do not violate our patent."

Note how the overall tone here is "it's incorrect to suggest we're going to shut down all yoga class filming," (incidentally, a suggestion nobody is making) and the subtext is "so long as you film in a way that doesn't violate our patents."

edit: This post of theirs really seems to just dig them in deeper. They look like clueless assholes.

Re: YogaGlo Update

#38
post #29

Since this is relevant to the tech community let me paint a picture before people start sharpening the pitchforks... I've been meeting with investors recently and one of the most common questions/comments has been - "Why can't someone else just do the same thing? Can a group of Stanford grads build this in a weekend?" This line of questioning is relevant to pretty much all startups today. The reality is, from what I…

I think it's mistaken for Yogaglo to believe that what distinguishes their business is some specific camera angle and frankly it's disingenuous for them to pretend so. They have a set of very popular teachers (even celebrities within the yoga world). That's the reason why Stanford grads can't build it in a weekend -- are they going to be able to get Kathryn Budig and Jason Crandall and the others? I really think they just got greedy, and want to force their competitors to film their classes at awkward angles and in undesirable formats.

Re: YogaGlo Update

#39
post #13

Does prior art mean anything with the US First to File system? Is anyone looking through old DVD or VHS videos of Yoga lessons, or through Youtube (or similar) video sites? This strikes me as another reason why DMCA is bad. Backing up an old VHS tape might require breaking the macrovision copy protection. Yet it's important to keep this old stuff around because it might be useful in cases like this.

"Does prior art mean anything with the US First to File system?"

Yes, first to file is about what happens when two people invent the same thing within the same year, not about "first guy to ever file something gets a patent".

Re: YogaGlo Update

#40
post #11

> Below are a few visual examples of what our patent protects. Note, there are many other ways companies and teachers can create yoga classes that do not look anything like YogaGlo’s classes: I discounted every single word they said after seeing the pictures! I cannot believe any sane person, much less a patent official, can believe that those ought to be patentable. What came to mind was a Sanskrit proverb many Indi…

Did these guys go to the Rap Genius school of P.R.?

This kind of "apology" is just pouring gasoline on the fire.

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