The ex-head of the US Copyright Office rebutted arguments from President Donald Trump’s team that her dismissal is legal. Shira Perlmutter’s dismissal was a result of a report released by the US Copyright Office that challenged the limitations of the “fair use” defence used by AI companies in order to justify training models on copyrighted materials. Perlmutter claimed in a [PDF] filing to support her application for a preliminary order this week that her removal from her position was illegal and caused her immediate irreparable harm. It claimed that by firing Perlmutter, the Trump administration was threatening the ability of her office to function as Congress intended.
Perlmutter, who was removed from her office in May concluded that AI developers were using copyrighted materials beyond the limits of fair use doctrine. Her draft report [PDF] argued fair use did not cover the commercial use large volumes of copyrighted work to create expressive content that competes on existing markets. She then filed for an injunction
to prevent her removal. The Trump administration responded that the emergency request for reinstatement was not approved as such actions are within the president’s powereven though the positions in question fall under the legislative branches.
According to the administration, the judge didn’t need to evaluate the merits of Perlmutter’s case as she couldn’t prove that she would suffer irreparable damage without the court’s involvement.
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According to the White House, the power to remove is aligned to the power of appointment. The White House argued that if there is no Librarian for Congress and the President cannot designate an acting Librarian, the president can remove inferior officers such as the register of copyrights.
Perlmutter’s removal from office came a few days after the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden had been shown the door. Hayden was replaced by Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general. Perlmutter was replaced by Paul Perkins, deputy attorney general. Perlmutter’s lawyers said in a recent filing that the administration’s claim to have the power remove her from a position appointed by the Library of Congress was a
and “sweeping assertions of power.”
The Copyright Office, which is located at the Library of Congress and overseen directly by the librarian, Perlmutter stated. Her filing argued “neither the law nor common sense requires” the court should “should stand idly by and do nothing while [the Trump administration] wields unprecedented, and unlawful, authority.” (r)
