Pilates Trademark Lawsuit: What Every Instructor Should Know Today

A history of the Pilates trademark lawsuit and its impact on the global Pilates industry

Why This Still Matters

Ask most Pilates instructors under 50 about the “Pilates trademark case,” and you’ll often be met with blank stares. Yet this pivotal legal decision from the year 2000 shaped the entire future of our industry.

Between 1992 and 2000, Pilates teachers in the USA and beyond were actively prohibited from calling what they taught “Pilates”, unless they paid licensing fees to one man: Sean Gallagher. Hundreds were threatened with legal action. Teacher training schools operated under a cloud of fear and the public was left confused.

Here I recount the story — clearly, accurately, and with all the detail necessary for any Pilates instructor, student, or educator to understand how the name Pilates became free to use… and why that freedom must never be forgotten.

Who Was Involved?

Sean Gallagher: Physical therapist and entrepreneur. In 1992, Gallagher acquired a series of legal rights in the PILATES trademarks from a defunct studio known as Healite. He became the public face of trademark enforcement, asserting that only those he authorised could use the word “Pilates”.

Ken Endelman: Founder of Balanced Body Inc., a leading manufacturer of Pilates equipment. In 1996, after years of operating under pressure from Gallagher’s legal threats, Endelman stood up to Gallagher and was sued. His response led to the landmark court case.

Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum: The U.S. District Judge who presided over the case and issued a detailed 93-page ruling in 2000.

Romana Kryzanowska, Ron Fletcher, Kathy Grant, Eve Gentry, Carola Trier: First-generation students of Joseph Pilates. Several testified during the case.

What Were the Trademarks?

Gallagher claimed rights to two primary U.S. trademarks:

“Pilates” — as a service mark for exercise instruction.

“Pilates” — as a trademark for exercise equipment (e.g., reformers and Wunda Chairs).

He did not create these trademarks. Instead, he acquired them through a questionable chain of sales from various studio owners and companies that had operated under the ‘Pilates’ name, including Healite, Inc. The validity of those transfers became a core issue in the lawsuit.

The Core Legal Arguments

When Gallagher sued Balanced Body Inc. for trademark infringement, Endelman and his legal team didn’t just defend, they counterclaimed. Their argument? That the term “Pilates” was generic and not protectable as a trademark.

Their legal defence rested on six points:

1. Pilates is a generic term — widely used to describe a method of exercise.

2. The trademarks were abandoned — due to non-use by previous owners (Healite, etc.).

3. The trademarks were fraudulently registered — with misleading claims to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

4. The marks were improperly assigned — transferred without the business goodwill they supposedly represented.

5. Balanced Body were prior users — having used the name before Gallagher.

6. Unclean hands — Gallagher himself had previously used the word “Pilates” generically and improperly.

The Verdict: What the Court Found

On 19 October 2000, the U.S. District Court ruled in favour of Balanced Body. The decision included several major findings:

1. “Pilates” is a generic term

“The primary significance of PILATES is as a method of exercise, not as a source of a product or service.” – Judge Cedarbaum

Like “yoga” or “karate,” Pilates refers to a discipline, not a brand. Hundreds of media references, instructor testimonies, dictionary definitions and decades of public usage supported this finding.

2. The trademark transfers were invalid

The trademark had passed through multiple companies, some of which had ceased operations years earlier. By the time Gallagher purchased the trademarks from Healite in 1992, the original studio had long closed and no meaningful business activity remained.

This meant Gallagher acquired only a name, not the goodwill associated with it. In trademark law, such a transfer is called an “assignment in gross”, and is not legally valid.

3. Gallagher committed fraud on the U.S. Patent Office

The court found that Gallagher made knowingly false statements in his registration of the equipment trademark, including claiming continuous use that did not exist, and submitting as “evidence” a 25-year-old equipment plaque created by Joseph Pilates himself.

This resulted in cancellation of the equipment trademark due to fraud.

What Changed After the Ruling?

1. The Pilates trademarks were cancelled.

2. Pilates teachers were finally free to use the word “Pilates”.

3. Equipment manufacturers could describe their products accurately.

4. The Pilates community became more unified and inclusive.

In the words of Balanced Body’s founder:

“It was like a dam bursting. Suddenly, instructors could speak openly. Studios didn’t have to whisper ‘the P word’. And the public could finally access Pilates without corporate censorship.” – Ken Endelman

Why Instructors Still Need to Know This

Every Pilates teacher working today stands on the shoulders of this case. Without it, the word Pilates might still belong to one company. Yet many instructors still haven’t heard of it, even those who sat formal exams or took courses with long-established schools.

In my opinion that’s a problem. Understanding the trademark case isn’t just legal trivia. It’s:

· A lens into Pilates history

· A warning against commercial overreach

· A celebration of professional courage

· And a case study in how the community fought back

Closing Thoughts

Joseph Pilates wanted his method taught in every school, practised in every home, and known across the world. The 2000 court ruling didn’t just protect legal rights, it brought us closer to realising his vision.

Today, “Pilates” is a household word. That freedom was hard-won. Let us honour it and keep the story alive.

Author: Chris Onslow - Pilates Consultant

Chris Onslow, has run Pilates focussed businesses since 1998. He and his team specialise in supporting Pilates entrepreneurs and business owners. With a rich history of owning and running successful Pilates studios in the UK, and supporting others in Europe and the Middle East, Chris has broad expertise in maximising profitability and optimising operational efficiency. His agency provides top-tier advice on selecting new, pre-owned, and hireable Pilates equipment from renowned brands such as Align-Pilates, Balanced Body or Stott-Pilates/Merrithew. As the founder of Mbodies Training Academy, Chris continues to revolutionise Pilates education, offering premier online and hybrid CPD and qualification courses for Pilates apparatus instruction and special population CPD.