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."
"The Trump administration fired back Monday against ousted Copyright Office chief Shira Perlmutter’s lawsuit, arguing her emergency request for reinstatement should be denied because the president has sweeping authority to remove her."
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."
DAVID MOSCROP , Jacobin; The AI and Copyright Issues Dividing Trump’s Court
"As many have pointed out, the copyright-AI battle is not only a central struggle within the Trump administration; it is also a broader conflict over who controls intellectual property and to what end. For decades, corporations have abused copyright to unreasonably extend coverage periods and impoverish the public domain. Their goal: maximizing both control over IP and profits. But AI firms aren’t interested in reforming that system. They’re not looking to open access or enrich the commons — they just want training data. And in fighting for it, they may end up reshaping copyright law in ways that outlast this administration.
As Nguyen notes, after the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, was turfed by DOGE-aligned officials, Trump antitrust adviser Mike Davis posted to Truth Social: “Now tech bros are going to steal creators’ copyrights for AI profits. . . . This is 100 percent unacceptable.” Trump reposted it. That’s the shape of the struggle: MAGA populists, who see their own content as sacred property, are up against a tech elite that views all content as extractable fuel."
SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press (AP); Donald Trump’s Library of Congress fight is really about the separation of powers
"It’s not really about the books.
President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of top officials at the Library of Congress and equally sudden attempt to appoint a slate of loyalists as replacements has instead morphed into an enormous fight over the separation of powers, as the White House tries to wrest control of what has for centuries been a legislative institution.
It’s a power struggle with potentially vast consequences. The Library of Congress not only stores the world’s largest collection of books but also an office overseeing reams of copyrighted material of untold value.
There is a research institute that has long been protected from outside influence. Its servers house extremely sensitive information regarding claims of workplace violations on Capitol Hill, as well as payments and other financial data for the legislative branch’s more than 30,000 employees. There’s even speculation that the whole affair is tied to an ongoing debate over whether big tech companies can use copyrighted material for artificial intelligence systems."
JARED GANS, The Hill ; Democrats press Trump on Copyright Office chief’s removal
"A half dozen Senate Democrats are pressing President Trump over his firing of the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, arguing that the move is illegal.
“It threatens the longstanding independence and integrity of the Copyright Office, which plays a vital role in our economy,” the members said in the letter. “You are acting beyond your power and contrary to the intent of Congress as you seek to erode the legal and institutional independence of offices explicitly designed to operate outside the reach of partisan influence.” ...
The head of the Copyright Office is responsible for shaping federal copyright policy, and the senators argued the role is particularly crucial as the country confronts issues concerning the intersection of copyright law and technologies like artificial intelligence."
Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T); Statement on the Termination of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress
"The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) expresses its profound shock, dismay, and concern at the abrupt termination of Dr. Carla Hayden from her position as the 14th Librarian of Congress.
Dr. Hayden’s tenure marked a historic chapter not only for the Library of Congress but also for the global library and information science (LIS) community. As the first woman and the first African American to hold this esteemed role, she was an international symbol of progress, equity, and the transformative power of open, democratic access to information. Her leadership consistently demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the modernization of information systems, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the championing of marginalized voices within the national and global record.
The removal of Dr. Hayden from office represents a significant and troubling moment for the LIS profession in the United States. It sends an unsettling message about the value placed on diverse leadership, the independence of cultural institutions, and the role of libraries as defenders of intellectual freedom and access to information in a democratic society. Her absence will leave a deep void in national policy conversations surrounding digital preservation, equitable access to information, and the future of public knowledge institutions.
Moreover, the repercussions of this decision are not confined to the United States. Dr. Hayden was a globally respected figure, fostering international collaborations, advancing digital initiatives that transcended national borders, and advocating for the preservation and accessibility of the world’s cultural memory. The termination of her leadership risks undermining critical global partnerships and weakening the collective efforts of the international information science community to build inclusive, forward-looking, and ethically grounded information infrastructures.
ASIS&T calls upon decision-makers to recognize the indispensable role of professional, independent, and visionary leadership in stewarding our most vital information institutions. We urge transparency in the processes surrounding this decision and reaffirm our solidarity with the broader LIS community in advocating for principles of equity, access, and the public good in all matters concerning information stewardship.
We extend our deepest appreciation to Dr. Carla Hayden for her exemplary service and leadership and commit ourselves to upholding the values she so powerfully embodied throughout her career."
Blake Montgomery , The Guardian; Trump strikes a blow for AI – by firing the US copyright supremo
"Over the weekend, Donald Trump fired the head of the US copyright office, CBS News reported. Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, was sacked after she issued a report questioning AI companies’ growing need for more data and casting doubt on their expressed need to circumvent current copyright laws.
In a statement, New York Democratic representative Joe Morelle pointed specifically to Trump’s booster-in-chief Elon Musk as a motivator for Perlmutter’s firing: “Donald Trump’s termination of register of copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.”
Trump’s abrupt severing of the copyright chief from her job reminds me of the Gordian knot. Legend has it that Alexander the Great was presented with a knot in a rope tying a cart to a stake. So complex were its twistings that no man had been able to untie it of the hundreds who had tried. Alexander silently drew his sword and sliced the knot in two. The story is one of a great man demonstrating the ingenuity that would lead him to conquer the world. Alexander did solve the riddle. He also defeated its purpose. The cart is left with no anchor. Perhaps the riddle had taken on more significance than the original problem of keeping the cart in place, but that is a question for another day.
Trump may have cut through any thorny legal questions the copyright office had raised, but the vacuum at the head of the US’s copyright authority means that richer and better-connected players will run roughshod over copyright law in the course of their business. That may be what the president wants. The more powerful players in lawsuits over AI and copyright are undoubtedly the well capitalized AI companies, as much as I want artists to be paid in abundance for their creativity. These tech companies have cozied up to Trump in an effort to ensure a friendlier regulatory environment, which seems to be working if the firing of the copyright chief is any evidence. Lawsuits over how much AI companies owe artists and publishers for their surreptitious use of copyrighted material with an avowed lack of permission still abound, and both plaintiffs and defendants will be taking their cues from the US copyright office."
Maya C. Miller and Devlin Barrett , The New York Times; Trump Installs Top Justice Dept. Official at Library of Congress, Prompting a Standoff
"Around 9 a.m., the two Justice Department officials arrived at the library’s James Madison Memorial Building and sought access to the U.S. Copyright Office, which is housed there. They brought a letter from the White House declaring that Mr. Blanche was the acting librarian and that he had selected the two men for top roles at the agency.
They were Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general who the letter said would serve as the acting register of copyrights and the director of the Copyright Office, and Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior policy counsel who had been designated as the acting deputy librarian. Mr. Trump also fired the previous director of the Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, over the weekend, one of the people said.
Staff members at the library balked and called the U.S. Capitol Police as well as their general counsel, Meg Williams, who told the two officials that they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office and asked them to leave, one of the people said.
Mr. Perkins and Mr. Nieves then left the building willingly, accompanied to the door by Ms. Williams. The library’s staff is recognizing Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian who was Dr. Hayden’s No. 2, as the acting librarian until it gets direction from Congress, one of the people familiar with the situation said.
In a brief email to the staff on Monday, Mr. Newlen noted that the White House had named a new acting librarian and suggested that the matter was still unresolved."
Simon Sherwood, The Register; US Copyright Office found AI companies sometimes breach copyright. Next day its boss was fired
"The head of the US Copyright Office has reportedly been fired, the day after agency concluded that builders of AI models use of copyrighted material went beyond existing doctrines of fair use.
The office’s opinion on fair use came in a draft of the third part of its report on copyright and artificial intelligence. The first part considered digital replicas and the second tackled whether it is possible to copyright the output of generative AI.
The office published the draft [PDF] of Part 3, which addresses the use of copyrighted works in the development of generative AI systems, on May 9th.
The draft notes that generative AI systems “draw on massive troves of data, including copyrighted works” and asks: “Do any of the acts involved require the copyright owners’ consent or compensation?”"
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?”"
NICHOLAS WU, LISA KASHINSKY and KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS, Politico; Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is fired by Trump
Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Dr. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate later that year on July 13.
Her vision for America’s national library, connecting all Americans to the Library of Congress, has redefined and modernized the Library’s mission: to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.
During her tenure, Dr. Hayden has prioritized efforts to make the Library and its unparalleled collections more accessible to the public. Through her social media presence, events and activities, she has introduced new audiences to many of the Library’s treasures – from Frederick Douglass’ papers, to the contents of President Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of his assassination, to James Madison’s crystal flute made famous by Lizzo.
https://www.loc.gov/about/about-the-librarian/
Welcome Message from Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. Whether you are new to the Library of Congress or an experienced researcher, we have a world-class staff ready to assist you online and in person.
I encourage you to visit the Library of Congress in person in Washington, D.C., explore the Library online from wherever you are and connect with us on social media.
Sincerely,
Librarian of Congress"
Ina Fried, Axios; AI firms push to use copyrighted content freely
"A sharp divide over AI engines' free use of copyrighted material has emerged as a key conflict among the firms and groups that recently flooded the White House with advice on its forthcoming "AI Action Plan."
Why it matters: Copyright infringement claims were among the first legal challenges following ChatGPT's launch, with multiple lawsuits now winding their way through the courts.
Driving the news: In their White House memos, OpenAI and Google argue that their use of copyrighted material for AI is a matter of national security — and if that use is limited, China will gain an unfair edge in the AI race."
