In January, I wrote the blog post, Anger over website that publishes obituaries, about the website Afterlife that was modifying and publishing obituaries without people’s permission. Afterlife appeared to be a site that was more interested in selling floral arrangements and virtual memorial candles.
Then in July, without realizing Afterlife had shut down its website only to create a similar service, called Everhere, I wrote the blog post, Families protest Quebec-based website of obituaries, about how Everhere had bastardized the beautifully written obituary of a childhood friend, only to sell flowers.
Now CBC reports a class-action lawsuit filed against Afterlife has been certified by the Federal Court of Canada.
Erin Best, a lawyer in St. John’s, Newfoundland, is handling the suit. She said to CBC, “I think we have a good case. Clearly under our copyright act, an obituary is a literary work, and attracts copyright protection. Certainly a photograph is an artistic work that attracts copyright protection, and they were copying both of those things, both of those works, without permission from the copyright owner.”
CBC reports, “Afterlife has since shut down its website, but a similar service has popped up. Anyone trying to access Afterlife will be redirected to Everhere.”
More on the story is in this CBC report from Newfoundland.
