After Joseph Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 87, numerous Pilates Method practitioners and schools of practice arose, some claiming to offer improved and more modern versions of the original Pilates techniques. After litigation in 2000, a federal court held that “Pilates” was a generic term for a certain type of exercise and could not be trademarked. Numerous companies produce Pilates equipment and video courses; a wide array of Pilates studios operate all over the country. The Pilates Method Alliance, a not-for-profit corporation, was created in order to unite the industry and create standards for training and conduct of practitioners; nevertheless, anyone is free to open a Pilates studio in an environment that is largely unregulated. Nearly every American community of any size has some form of Pilates studio.

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