Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Fire the Top Copyright Official; The New York Times, October 27, 2025

Ann E. Marimow, The New York Times; Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Fire the Top Copyright Official

"The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to remove the government’s top copyright official after a lower court allowed her to remain in her post that is part of the Library of Congress.

President Trump ordered the removal in May of Shira Perlmutter, the register of copyrights, along with the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who did not challenge her dismissal.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has repeatedly allowed Mr. Trump to fire the leaders of independent agencies even as they fight their dismissals in court, allowing him to seize greater control of the federal bureaucracy.

The administration made the request after a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with Ms. Perlmutter, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office. The majority said the register is unique within the legislative branch and that her role is to advise Congress on issues related to copyright."

Trump Seeks Full Court Rehearing on Copyright Chief Perlmutter; Bloomberg Law, September 18, 2025

Kyle Jahner

, Bloomberg Law; Trump Seeks Full Court Rehearing on Copyright Chief Perlmutter

"The Trump Administration asked the full D.C. Circuit to rehear a successful bid by Shira Perlmutter to be temporarily restored as the head of the US Copyright Office."

Appeals court, weighing Trump’s Library of Congress takeover, reinstates copyright chief; Politico, September 9, 2025

 JOSH GERSTEIN, Politico ; Appeals court, weighing Trump’s Library of Congress takeover, reinstates copyright chief

"A federal appeals court ruled the nation’s top copyright official can continue serving in her post following President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her.

A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesdaythat Shira Perlmutter is entitled to continue to serve as the register of copyrights at the Library of Congress, despite the White House’s claim that Trump fired her from the post in May.

While the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit have permitted Trump to fire a range of executive branch officials who claimed they were protected from dismissal, judges Florence Pan and J. Michelle Childs concluded that Perlmutter’s case was stronger because she doesn’t exercise significant executive power in her job.

“Because Perlmutter leads an agency that is housed in the Legislative Branch and her primary role is to advise Congress, Perlmutter’s situation differs significantly from the Executive Branch officials whose removals have been repeatedly upheld,” Pan wrote, joined by Childs. Both are appointees of former President Joe Biden.

Perlmutter was dismissed days after Trump moved to fire Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who has not sought to challenge her ouster in court. The president’s move onto what has traditionally been legislative branch turf has vexed Democrats and some congressional Republicans.

Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented. He said Perlmutter’s claims were too similar to cases the Supreme Court ruled on earlier this year where the justices upheld, for now, Trump’s power to fire members of labor-related boards and the Consumer Product Safety Commission."

Trump’s Ex-Copyright Chief Loses Bid to Regain Her Old Job; Bloomberg Law, July 30, 2025

Quinn Wilson, Bloomberg Law; Trump’s Ex-Copyright Chief Loses Bid to Regain Her Old Job

"Former Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter couldn’t convince a district court to reinstate her to her post.

Perlmutter failed to show Timothy J. Kelly that she or Library of Congress or the Copyright Office faces irreparable harm as a result of her firing, according to a memorandum opinion issued Wednesday. Kelly denied her motion for a preliminary injunction in the US District Court for the District of Columbia."

Ousted US copyright chief argues Trump did not have power to remove her; The Register, July 4, 2025

 Lindsay Clark, The Register; Ousted US copyright chief argues Trump did not have power to remove her

"The White House said the power to remove is aligned with the power to appoint. If there is no Librarian of Congress and the president cannot designate an acting librarian, the president's removal authority extends to inferior officers like the register of copyrights, it argued.

Perlmutter was expunged from office a few days after Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden was also shown the door. Hayden was later replaced by deputy attorney general Todd Blanche and Perlmutter by deputy attorney general Paul Perkins.

In the latest filing this week, Perlmutter's legal team said the administration's claim that it had the power to remove her from an office appointed by the Library of Congress employed a "novel constitutional theory" and "sweeping assertions of power."

The Copyright Office is housed in the Library of Congress, and the librarian oversees the Copyright Office head directly, Perlmutter said. Her filing argued that "neither the law nor common sense requires" that the court should "should stand idly by and do nothing while [the Trump administration] wields unprecedented, and unlawful, authority.""

Five Months into the Trump Presidency: Charting the latest offensives against libraries and how advocates are pushing back; American Libraries, June 18, 2025

 Hannah Weinberg  , American Libraries; Five Months into the Trump Presidency: Charting the latest offensives against libraries and how advocates are pushing back

"Since our last report, libraries have continued to experience significant upheaval from President Trump’s actions. In May, the Trump administration fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter. We also saw legal cases challenging the administration’s defunding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) continue to make their way through the courts in May and June. Meanwhile, library advocates contacted their legislators to fight for federal library funding in fiscal year (FY) 2026.

Here are several updates on the attacks against libraries across the US and the ways in which library supporters are pushing back."

Fired copyright chief loses first round in lawsuit over Trump powers; Politico, May 28, 2025

 KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS, Politico ; Fired copyright chief loses first round in lawsuit over Trump powers

"A judge denied a request for reinstatement Wednesday from the ousted head of the national copyright office, rejecting for now her claims that President Donald Trump had no right to fire her."

Complaint: Perlmutter v. Blanche; Courthouse News, May 22, 2025

 Courthouse News; Complaint: Perlmutter v. Blanche

Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired; The Verge, May 14, 2025

Tina Nguyen , The Verge; Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfiredi

US Copyright Office director sues Trump administration over firing; Reuters, May 22, 2025

 Blake Brittain, Reuters; US Copyright Office director sues Trump administration over firing

"The U.S. Copyright Office director fired by the Trump administration sued President Donald Trump and other government officials on Thursday, arguing her firing was unconstitutional and should not be allowed to take effect.

Shira Perlmutter said in the lawsuit that her termination by email on May 10 was "blatantly unlawful," and that only the U.S. Congress can remove her from office."

Trump fires top US copyright official; Politico, May 10, 2025

KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS , Politico; Trump fires top US copyright official

[Kip Currier: If the allegation below is correct -- that Musk or anyone could gain and/or be granted access to the copyrighted works that federal copyright filers are required to provide for deposit to the U.S. Copyright Office (i.e. the U.S. federal government), as a condition of receiving a federal copyright, and that Musk or anyone could then use these federally-deposited copyrighted works to train proprietary AI models without permission or payment to the owners of those federally-deposited copyrighted works -- this is a matter that must be reported on more widely and investigated by the U.S. Congress.]

[Excerpt]

"Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee which oversees the Library of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office, is alleging it is “no coincidence [Trump] acted less than a day after [Perlmutter] refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.”

Perlmutter and her office issued a lengthy report about artificial intelligence that included some questions and concerns about the usage of copyrighted materials by AI technology, an industry which Musk is heavily involved in.

“This action once again tramples on Congress’s Article One authority and throws a trillion-dollar industry into chaos,” Morelle continued in a statement. “When will my Republican colleagues decide enough is enough?”"

Perlmutter Says Copyright Office Is Still Working to Meet ‘Ambitious Deadline’ for AI Report; IPWatchdog, November 14, 2024

EILEEN MCDERMOTT , IPWatchdog; Perlmutter Says Copyright Office Is Still Working to Meet ‘Ambitious Deadline’ for AI Report

"Asked by Subcommittee Chair Chris Coons (D-DE) what keeps her up at night when it comes to the AI issue, Perlmutter said “the speed at which this is all developing.” In September during IPWatchdog LIVE 2024, Perlmutter told LIVE attendees that while she’s confident the issues around copyright and AI will eventually be solved, she’s “less comfortable about what it means for humankind.”

Perlmutter recently came under fire from Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI), who sent a letter On Tuesday, October 29, to the Office asking for an update on the AI report, which Steil charged is no longer on track to be published by its stated target dates. Steil’s letter asked the Office to explain the delay in issuance of parts two and three, which Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter indicated in an oversight hearing by the Committee on House Administration would be published before the end of the summer and in the fall, respectively. “The importance of these reports cannot be overstated,” Steil wrote, explaining that copyright owners are relying on the Office to provide clear guidance. “The absence of these reports creates uncertainty for industries that are already grappling with AI-related challenges and hinders lawmakers’ ability to craft effective policy,” the letter added.

Perlmutter commented in the hearing that “we’ve been trying to set and follow our own ambitious deadlines” and the goal remains to get the rest of the report out by the end of the year, but that her key concern is to be “accurate and thoughtful.”

The forthcoming reports will include recommendations on how to deal with copyrightability of materials created using GAI and the legal implications of training on copyrighted works. The latter is most controversial and may in fact require additional legislation focusing on transparency requirements."

AI Training Study to Come This Year, Copyright Office Says; Bloomberg Law, October 31, 2024

Annelise Gilbert , Bloomberg Law; AI Training Study to Come This Year, Copyright Office Says

"The Copyright Office’s report on the legal implications of training artificial intelligence models on copyrighted works is still expected to publish by the end of 2024, the office’s director told lawmakers.

Director Shira Perlmutter on Wednesday said the office aims to complete the remaining two sections of its three-part AI report in the next two months—one on the copyrightability of generative AI output and the other about liability, licensing, and fair use in regards to AI training on protected works."

Video game libraries lose legal appeal to emulate physical game collections online; Ars Technica, October 25, 2024

KYLE ORLAND, Ars Technica; Video game libraries lose legal appeal to emulate physical game collections online

"Earlier this year, we reported on the video game archivists asking for a legal DMCA exemption to share Internet-accessible emulated versions of their physical game collections with researchers. Today, the US Copyright Office announced once again that it was denying that request, forcing researchers to travel to far-flung collections for access to the often-rare physical copies of the games they're seeking.

In announcing its decision, the Register of Copyrights for the Library of Congresssided with the Entertainment Software Association and others who argued that the proposed remote access could serve as a legal loophole for a free-to-access "online arcade" that could harm the market for classic gaming re-releases. This argument resonated with the Copyright Office despite a VGHF study that found 87 percent of those older game titles are currently out of print."

Librarian of Congress Seeks Input on Register of Copyrights; The Library of Congress, March 2, 2020

Press Release, The Library of Congress;

Librarian of Congress Seeks Input on Register of Copyrights

"The public will have the opportunity to provide input to the Library of Congress on expertise needed by the next Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, announced today.

Beginning today, March 2, a form to solicit this feedback is online and open to the public. The form will be posted through Friday, March 20.

• Public input form: https://www.loc.gov/about/librarian-of-congress-seeks-input-on-register-of-copyrights/
• Deadline for submitting comments: Friday, March 20, 2020

The Library of Congress will review all input and use it to help develop the knowledge, skills and abilities requirements for our announcement to fill the Register of Copyrights position.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services, and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register and record creative works of authorship at copyright.gov."

Listening Session on Appointment of Next Register of Copyrights; The Library of Congress, January 2020

The Library of Congress 

"Listening Session on Appointment of Next Register of Copyrights

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday at the Library of Congress, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Mumford Room (LM-649), Washington, D.C. 20540.

On January 5, Maria Strong’s tenure as Acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office began a few weeks after her appointment by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. This event will be the first of two listening sessions hosted by the Library of Congress this week to explore the appointment of the next Register of Copyrights to take over the position full-time after Karyn Temple stepped away from the Copyright Office in December. The session will feature a briefing from Librarian Hayden and Copyright Office staff on the selection process and will include time for comments and questions from attendees."

Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Is Leaving; Publishers Weekly, December 9, 2019

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Is Leaving

"Just months after her permanent appointment as Register of Copyrights, Karyn Temple is leaving for a new position as the global general counsel of the Motion Picture Association...

Of course, the big question may be whether Temple’s departure will spur another attempt to remove the Register of Copyrights position out of the purview of the Library of Congress.

In October of 2016, Hayden’s abrupt removal of then-register, Maria Pallante (who is now president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers) angered many in the content and entertainment industries, who viewed Pallante as an ally. What followed was a campaign by lobbyists to paint Hayden as “anti-copyright,” and a subsequent bill, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR 1695), which proposed to take the register of copyrights position out of the purview of the Librarian of Congress and make it a presidential appointment. That bill died in the Senate last year, but for more than two years it effectively blocked Hayden from appointing a permanent successor to Pallante."

It's About Time for Congress to Improves [sic] the Copyright Office; Forbes, March 31, 2017

Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Forbes; 

It's About Time for Congress to Improves [sic] the Copyright Office

"In the pecking order of Washington organizations, the Copyright Office is close to last. The head of the Copyright Office does not report to the president. He reports to the Librarian of Congress. That’s right: the Librarian of Congress, who in turn reports to various members of Congress.

H.R. 1695 is a great start to remedy that situation, but it could be improved. For example, under the current bill, the Librarian of Congress would still select the Associate Registers of Copyrights. An improved bill would remove the Librarian of Congress from all responsibilities with respect to the Office of Copyright.

An astute observer might suggest that the obscurity of the Copyright Office and benign neglect in Washington have benefitted the copyright industries. Perhaps. The copyright industries have done quite well economically for decades without a forceful voice in government to advocate for them or to look after their interests. Have they done well because of neglect, or despite neglect?"

Library Experts Weigh in On Next Register of Copyrights; Library Journal, 1/12/17

Brandon Butler, Kyle K. Courtney, Mary Minow, Kevin Smith, Library Journal; 

Library Experts Weigh in On Next Register of Copyrights

"In the wake of the October 29 resignation of Maria Pallante, the former Register of Copyrights, the Library of Congress (LC) has put out a call to the public for input on the expertise needed by the next Register of Copyrights. (On January 17, Pallante will join the Association of American Publishers as president and CEO). The survey, posted on the LC website on December 16, invites the public to answer a series of questions about the knowledge, skills, abilities, and priorities that the incoming Register should possess...

LJ asked four library copyright experts to give their opinions on what they see as important considerations for the incoming Register of Copyrights, and for LC as well.

The survey will be open through January 31."

Library of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office Roundup; Information Today, 1/10/17

Corilee Christou, Information Today; Library of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office Roundup

"Copyright Office Struggles

The overall picture at the LC certainly seems rosy. However, the U.S. Copyright Office is a different story. The office, led by then Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, was attempting to fix its problems in 2016, but with its budget and IT systems both dependent on the LC, this was not a simple task. After only a month as the Librarian of Congress, Hayden removed Pallante from her position. She had been Register of Copyrights since 2011, after holding several positions at the Copyright Office since 2008. Never before has a Register of Copyrights been removed from his or her post by the Librarian of Congress.

Instead of taking the alternative position of senior advisor to the Librarian of Congress that Hayden offered her, Pallante resigned, effective Oct. 29. Reactions were both positive and negative."