Last year, Bikram made an example and sued one studio south of Los Angeles.
But put this debate aside for the moment, and give Bikram the benefit of the doubt.
At first, this intellectual-property strategy seemed to be just another of Bikram's wry jokes.
Bikram Choudhury, the Hot Yoga pioneer, built a multimillion empire by trademarking his routine.
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Bikram, part of India's new young cash-rich middle class, was the first to answer.
Bikram Singh Brahma was detained on Thursday after the victim's husband reported the alleged rape.
One of the participants, Sub-Inspector Bikram Khadka, said the yoga camp had helped him realise how to take his weight problem.
While the health benefits of Bikram are widely recognized, some find the heat oppressive and complain of feeling dizzy or nauseous during the class.
The goal was not to challenge Bikram in court, the case explains, but rather to keep others from following his proprietary example.
Moore keeps her tetanus shot up to date and makes sure she gets to a Bikram yoga class at least five times a week.
Some doctors, as well as many gourmet yogis, worry that the extreme and artificial heat in Bikram studios can lead to dehydration, over-stretching or worse.
Bikram says that he is not, in fact, trying to franchise or copyright yoga as such, only his specific sequence of postures and way of teaching it.
By 2011, there were some 5, 000 Bikram Yoga studios worldwide.
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