Patents and Trademarks

 

Buteyko Center USA has made claims of exclusive patent and trademark rights.

With regards to the patent, there are NO patents relevant in Canada or the USA.

This is a direct excerpt from a letter from the Buteyko Center USA lawyer:

"With regards to the issue of patent infringement, you are quite correct
in that there are no enforceable rights in the United States for the Buteyko
Method. The patent rights exist in the Russian Federation, as described on
Buteyko Center USA's website and literature."

With regards to the trademark rights, Ludmilla Buteyko received a trademark in the EU in 2010 for the word “BUTEYKO”. EU trademarks are automatically applicable in the United States. Since then trademark has been rescinded in the EU except for a few services such as veterinary services. That change will make its way to the US soon.

Buteyko Center USA was granted a trademark because they neglected to mention its widespread use in the US, but it is in “suspended” status.

In fact “Buteyko” is a descriptive and generic term for the well-known Buteyko breathing technique that takes its name from the late Ukrainian doctor Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko and that has long been in widespread use by others in the United States, well before BCUSA was established.  There are no enforceable rights in the term “BUTEYKO”.

Contact:

We invite you to contact us if you have questions.
You may contact us by any of the following means:

Susan Neves at sneves@buteyko-usa.com
Chris Bauman at breathewell@shaw.ca
or by mail:

Buteyko Breathing Educators Association
2507 Brewster Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46268

or call:
317-824-0328 phone