Ex-Copyright Office chief Perlmutter draws a line between firing and AI report
By Melissa Ritti ( May 23, 2025, 14:30 GMT | Insight) -- A complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order by Shira Perlmutter makes several references to the release of the US Copyright Office’s long-awaited third position paper on artificial intelligence and copyright just one day before she was abruptly fired from her position as Register of Copyrights and Director of the US Copyright Office. Without linking the two events directly, the implication is clear: Perlmutter believes her removal was at least in part political payback for the report’s conclusion that not all uses of copyrighted works in generative AI training will qualify as fair. Yet other possible motivations behind the shakeup — which included the termination of Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden — are a desire by the executive branch to snoop on confidential research requests by members of Congress and unlawful access to deposit copies of copyrighted works, yesterday's filings suggest.Shira Perlmutter yesterday asked a US court to reinstate her as Register of Copyrights and Director of the US Copyright Office, calling her termination “lawless” and challenging the legal authority of an executive branch-appointed Librarian of Congress to oversee and maintain her ouster....
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