Pilates History Belongs to All of Us

Issue #475 – Wednesday, November 12, 2025

by Mary Kelly

Can you imagine not being able to call what you teach Pilates?

Or that the very name of this newsletter could not be “Pilates Intel” but have to be called “Exercises developed by Joseph Pilates” Intel?

Now also imagine you are prohibited from sharing images of Joseph Pilates with colleagues or displaying them on your studio walls.

Imagine being told that in order to use images from “Return to Life” — images long in the public domain — you must pay a licensing fee.

This is all real. It’s all actually happened or is happening now. There is a lawsuit currently working its way through the U.S. Federal Court system that has huge implications for anyone teaching Pilates or interested in its history.

Wait…What? Wasn’t this all settled 25 years ago? Not at all. While the culprit and his unsubstantiated claims to ownership are the same, the legal issues are entirely different.

If you aren’t already aware, a Pilates trademark lawsuit was resolved in 2000. Prior to that, instructors were forced to twist themselves in knots to avoid using the word “Pilates” with terms like “body conditioning” or “core-focused” or “system based on the teachings of Joseph Pilates.”

Hardly catchy phrases. Try marketing with that language.

Fast forward to present: After losing his claim to own the trademark to Joseph Pilates’ name, the same agitator who tried to monopolize the word “Pilates” — Sean Gallagher of Richtone Designs — is now suing in U.S. Federal Court to own the copyright to many, if not all of the historical Pilates images. The images to which Gallagher claims copyright span four decades and depict Joe in a variety of settings — including those of him flaunting his physique, demonstrating his method, or even posing with Clara for their annual Christmas cards. If you are reading this, you’ve seen many of these images and maybe even posted some.

John Lindquist Photograph, ©️Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University

In November 2021, I posted this photo of Joe displaying some of his inventions to my business Instagram account. Gallagher reported me to Instagram for copyright infringement, eventually leading to my account termination. He did this by filing a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) claim, one which only a copyright holder or its agent is allowed to make. I disputed his claim, which led him to sue me. If that weren’t bad enough, he also contacted the library which had given me permission to post the photo and had them remove it from their digital collection. He has since admitted in court filings that the image is not his copyright which of course we knew already. Unfortunately, my account was never restored and the lawsuit continues to this day.

Does this affect you? Absolutely. My two account terminations — yes, two — involved 25 individual reports of copyright infringement. But it wasn’t just me. I am aware of eight other Instagram accounts operated by Pilates instructors whose accounts Gallagher reported and caused to be terminated. That’s in addition to hundreds of individual posts which he had taken down and e-commerce sites which were disabled across scores of Pilates teachers, Pilates lovers and studio owners.

The New York Public Library’s extensive collection of Pilates-related materials has also been under attack. Gallagher went so far as to suggest that an instructor’s public library privileges be revoked for simply taking research photos she had every right to take. Photos that he and his business partner proudly claim to have sourced at the very same library.

This lawsuit — Richtone Design Group LLC v Mary Kelly/True Pilates Boston — is about all of us. It’s about so much more than the sharing of old photos. It is about honoring Mr. Pilates and respecting our shared history. It is about preserving the community’s access to images which are in the public domain and which it is absolutely entitled to share and display. It is about stopping the targeting of instructors by weaponizing DMCA claims with no basis for legal copyright ownership. It is about a long-running battle against an individual greedily trying to monetize Pilates’ history and intellectual property. It is about fighting for what belongs to us. Or as the New York Times called it, “The Fight For The Soul of Pilates.”

It is unimaginable that you would not be able to refer to what you are teaching as Pilates. It’s also unimaginable that the images that depict Joe and Clara teaching their method should be inaccessible based upon these claims. If you care about Pilates history, if you care about lifting the dark cloud that we’ve all been living under, please follow the Pilates Transparency Project on Instagram. If possible, please consider a donation to the Pilates Transparency Project GoFundMe. 100% of donations go to cover legal expenses so that we will one day be able to freely share our history.

You can donate, anonymously or not, here.

Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated.

(Please note: There is no need to add a “tip” to your donation. The platform defaults to a 16.5% “Tip GoFundMe services” fee which we do not endorse. You can set that to zero.)

Do you want to learn more?

You can follow the Pilates Transparency Project on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/pilatestransparencyproject You can also support the PTP with a purchase from the Herb Flatow Collection

(https://www.truepilatesboston.com/shop) with original photos from Pilates’ Eighth Avenue studio taken in 1955. 100% of profits go to cover legal expenses. Finally, please share this newsletter with those in your network who appreciate the value of preserving Pilates history.

Mary is the owner of True Pilates Boston. Her goal is to provide a supportive and challenging environment that honors Joseph Pilates’ intent: “complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.”

Mary is certified by Romana’s Pilates. She is a graduate of the comprehensive Pilates Professional Advanced Teacher Training Program – The Red Thread, as well as the Advanced Contrology Program through Authentic Pilates, The Pilates Studio Portugal. In 2024, she completed the Classical Syllabus, a program designed to apply the Pilates method to individual needs. She regularly attends workshops and conferences to further her appreciation and application of the method. She also holds a BA from Simmons College and an MBA from Boston University.