Indiana Bible College Lawsuit: Copyright Claims and Counterclaim

The Indiana Bible College lawsuit is a federal case filed in June 2025 in which the Indianapolis Pentecostal school sued composer Dr. Rosephanye Powell and Fred Bock Music Company for defamation after Powell publicly accused the college of copying her choral work “The Word Was God” to produce a piece called “John 1.” The publisher answered with a copyright infringement counterclaim, and the case is scheduled for trial on March 2, 2027, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.¹

The Two Songs at Issue

Powell composed “The Word Was God” in the mid-1990s. Gentry Publications, an imprint of the Fred Bock Publishing Group, published it in 1996 as an a cappella SATB divisi setting of John 1:1–3.²

“John 1” is the piece the Indiana Bible College Choir released in spring 2025. A performance video went up on YouTube on April 26, 2025, and a recording appeared on Apple Music on May 2, 2025. The YouTube video drew roughly 940,000 views before being taken down after a copyright claim by Gentry Publications.³ The piece credits four arrangers connected to IBC: Tim Hall, the college’s Dean of Worship Studies; pianist Aaron Curtis; recording artist Devin Cunningham; and student Hannah Leisure.⁴

According to Powell, “John 1” is a lightly reworked version of her composition. She has said the college made “minor alterations to notes, rests, and rhythms, including omitting the second ‘and’ in the predominant motive that runs throughout my song.”⁵ IBC maintains “John 1” is an original composition that uses no protectable elements of her work.

The Permission Requests That Came First

The dispute did not begin with “John 1.” In January 2024, a TikTok video of the IBC choir performing what Powell described as an unapproved arrangement of “The Word Was God” went viral. Powell said the college was told to destroy the video and the arrangement.⁵

In February 2024, Tim Hall emailed Powell asking permission to use her composition. He acknowledged he had performed the piece for years as a high school and college choral director before joining IBC and apologized for earlier social media posts of the arrangement, writing that “nothing was ever meant to be released until we received your permission.”⁴ Powell refused. Hall tried again in April 2024, this time asking to perform the arrangement at IBC’s “Music Fest” and promising not to stream or record it. Powell and Gentry Publications refused again.³

“John 1” was released the following spring. On May 23, 2025, Powell, Gentry Publications, and Fred Bock Music Company served IBC with a cease-and-desist letter alleging copyright infringement. The same day, Powell posted on Facebook calling “John 1” “undeniably a derivative of my work.”⁶ A second letter from Powell’s counsel followed on May 29.

What Indiana Bible College Is Claiming

On June 2, 2025, before any copyright suit was filed against it, IBC sued first. The college filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Case No. 1:25-cv-01070, naming Powell, Fred Bock Music Company, and unnamed defendants. Judge Matthew P. Brookman is presiding, with Magistrate Judge Mark J. Dinsmore.¹

The complaint alleges that Powell and Fred Bock published false statements on social media and through the IndyStar accusing the college and its songwriters of “unauthorized derivative [work], copyright infringement, and intellectual dishonesty.” IBC says those statements were made with “actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth” and caused reputational harm, loss of prospective contracts, and a decline in enrollment.⁷

Along with monetary damages, IBC asked the court to declare that “John 1” does not infringe Powell’s copyright, and to order the defendants to retract their statements and issue a formal apology. The college requested a jury trial.⁸

The Copyright Counterclaim

Fred Bock Music Company answered with a counterclaim for copyright infringement. The counterclaim alleges that IBC sought permission to create a derivative work based on “The Word Was God,” was denied, and then “merely renamed its derivative work ‘John 1′” and stripped out references to Powell.⁹ The publisher points out that IBC has admitted in court filings to seeking permission, performing “John 1” publicly, recording those performances, and selling CDs, sheet music, and multitracks.

Fred Bock is seeking an injunction against further performances of “John 1,” lost profits, statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees. IBC has raised 15 affirmative defenses. Among them: that “John 1” was independently created, that any similarity is limited to the shared public-domain biblical text, that the use qualifies as fair use, and that Fred Bock lacks exclusive ownership or control of the work.⁹

“John 1” remained commercially available on Apple Music as of mid-2026, listed both as a single and as a live music video.¹⁰

What the Court Has to Decide

Two legal questions sit at the center of the case. For defamation, IBC must show that Powell’s public statements accusing it of plagiarism were false and made with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth. For the copyright counterclaim, Fred Bock must show that “John 1” is substantially similar to “The Word Was God” in its protectable expression, not just in the biblical text both compositions share.

Because both works set John 1:1–3, the lyrics themselves are not copyrightable. The fight is over melody, rhythm, phrasing, and musical structure. IBC argues that overlap is inevitable when two compositions set the same short scripture to music. Powell and her publisher argue the similarities go well beyond coincidence, particularly given the documented history of IBC requesting and being denied permission to arrange her piece.⁹

IBC’s fair use defense faces a narrow path. Fair use weighs the purpose of the use, the nature of the original work, how much was taken, and the effect on the original’s market. Verbatim or near-verbatim copying of an entire musical work rarely qualifies, and while limited performance exemptions exist for religious services and nonprofit educational settings, those exemptions do not extend to creating derivative works or commercially distributing recordings and sheet music.¹¹

Where the Case Stands

Powell was terminated as a named defendant on November 7, 2025. The claims against Fred Bock Music Company and the copyright counterclaim against IBC remain active.¹ Fred Bock filed its answer to IBC’s Second Amended Complaint on September 25, 2025, and IBC filed an amended answer to the counterclaim on October 23, 2025. The court has set trial for March 2, 2027, in Indianapolis.⁹

1
PACER Monitor. Indiana Bible College v. Fred Bock Music Company, Inc. et al
2
Rosephanye Powell. Rosephanye Powell Official Website
3
IndyStar. Rosephanye Powell Distinguished Composer Says Indiana Bible College Stole Choir Song
4
BYU Copyright. Plaintiff Amended Answer to Counterclaims in Answer to Second Amended Complaint
5
Baptist News Global. Copyright Battle Between Noted Composer and Pentecostal College Escalates to Court
6
IndyStar. Indiana Bible College Files Lawsuit Against Rosephanye Powell, Fred Bock Music Company: Defamation
7
AL.com. Auburn Music Professor Sued by Bible College She Says Stole Her Work
8
BYU Copyright. Indiana Bible College Complaint
9
BYU Copyright. My Word Against Yours
10
Apple Music. Indiana Bible College on Apple Music
11
ChoralNet. Copyright and Choral Music