Watch previous reporting on the lawsuit in the video player above.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Six months after Hilliard-based religious education group LifeWise sued an Indiana parent for copyright infringement, the case has ended in an agreement.
Christian education service LifeWise Academy sued Zachary Parrish in July, alleging copyright infringement after Parrish accessed and distributed copies of LifeWise's curriculum without permission. Parrish, who is an administrator of the group "Parents Against LifeWise," accessed the then-private curriculum using means he said were legal and LifeWise said were not.
Now, the lawsuit has been settled with a mutual agreement freeing both parties from future claims, with neither admitting guilt in the settlement.
“We dropped the lawsuit because Parrish has agreed to remove full versions of LifeWise curriculum from Facebook and elsewhere and will not distribute full copies," LifeWise CEO Joel Penton said.
According to the settlement agreement, Parrish was responsible for deleting any copy he had of LifeWise’s curriculum, and requesting anyone else with access to those copies of the curriculum to delete them. Parrish is also not allowed to access the curriculum through any means except for the 48-hour window anyone else can use.
LifeWise was responsible for updating their terms and conditions to ensure anyone who agrees to LifeWise’s terms will be permitted to access the curriculum for 48 hours. Parrish said his lawyers helped LifeWise rewrite the terms of service. Neither party owed the other any money in the settlement.
Under the new agreement, LifeWise is no longer able to deny access to the materials, which can be viewed for 48 hours once someone has agreed to the online terms. There is no limit to how many times the materials can be requested. Parrish said he saw the settlement as a "really big win" to keep parents informed, adding he had heard reports that LifeWise was denying some requests, which they are no longer able to do.
“They keep saying they care about transparency, but if that was the case, it wouldn’t have taken all this," Parrish said.
LifeWise, which has offered its curriculum online to those who are approved for download since July, several weeks after they filed the lawsuit against Parrish. Penton said the settlement continues the organization's commitment to "reasonable review." Under the agreement, users are permitted to take screenshots of up to half of a page at a time, Parrish said.
“We believe in transparency and have encouraged families and communities to learn more about LifeWise and the positive impact of Bible-based character education," Penton said.
