Liturgical Composer’s Revived Copyright Claims Rejected by Jury

A liturgical-music composer failed to convince a jury that the Oregon Catholic Press infringed his copyright in a case that had been revived by the Ninth Circuit.

Vincent Ambrosetti accused composer Bernadette Farrell of copying his 1980 song “Emanuel” to write her “Christ Be Our Light"—which Oregon Catholic Press later exploited—in the US District Court for the District of Oregon. A jury disagreed, finding “Christ,” didn’t infringe in a March 20 verdict after a five-day trial.

Ambrosetti’s 2020 suit said “Emanuel” was included in a liturgical music book, and that he recorded it multiple times and played it widely, including ...