Donald Trump sacks director of US Copyright Office

Donald Trump’s administration has sacked the director of the US Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter.

The Washington Post reports that she received notice of her termination by email. Perlmutter’s sacking follows the release by her office this month of a 100-page report raising concerns about using copyrighted materials to train AI systems.

The report, which fell short of recommending government intervention, said that “several stages in the development of generative AI involve using copyrighted works in ways that implicate the owners’ exclusive rights”.

It continued: “The key question, as most commenters agreed, is whether those acts of prima facie infringement can be excused as fair use.”

The news of Perlmutter’s sacking was announced to staff in an email from acting librarian of Congress Robert Newlen – Trump fired the previous librarian, who was appointed by Barack Obama, earlier this month.

Congressman Joseph Morelle, the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, said in a statement that it was “no coincidence” the position was terminated shortly after the office released its AI report.

He called the White House’s decision “a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis”.

The American Federation of Musicians union said in a statement that Perlmutter’s firing will “harm the entire copyright community”.

The statement added: “She understood what we all know to be true: human creativity and authorship are the foundation of copyright law.”