Trump fires US Copyright Office leader amid critical AI lawsuits

The Trump administration’s abrupt firing of US Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter has left the agency without effective leadership during a critical period for AI copyright litigation. The dismissal, which Perlmutter is challenging in court as invalid, has created operational dysfunction at an agency that has gained new prominence issuing key AI copyright rulings.

What you should know: The Copyright Office has been operating without a confirmed leader since May, when Perlmutter was fired via email by the White House’s deputy director of personnel.

• Perlmutter is suing the Trump administration, arguing that only the Librarian of Congress has authority to dismiss her, not the executive branch.
• The firing followed a similar pattern—Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden was also dismissed via email just days before Perlmutter’s ouster.
• Justice Department officials Paul Perkins and Brian Nieves were designated as replacements but have never actually shown up to work or assumed their purported roles.

The big picture: This leadership vacuum has emerged at the worst possible time for copyright law, with dozens of potentially economy-shaking AI copyright lawsuits working through the courts.

• The Copyright Office has moved from being described as “sleepy” to issuing critical rulings about AI and copyright during the current AI boom.
• Perlmutter was fired just days after the office released a contested report on generative AI training and fair use, which has already been cited in new class action lawsuits against AI music tools Suno and Udio.

Operational challenges: The agency has been forced to adapt its procedures while operating without confirmed leadership.

• The Copyright Office initially paused issuing registration certificates “out of an abundance of caution,” impacting around 20,000 registrations.
• It resumed operations on May 29 but is now sending out registration certificates with blank spaces where Perlmutter’s signature would normally appear.
• Copyright Office spokesperson Lisa Berardi Marflak maintains the certificates are valid, stating “There is no requirement that the Register’s signature must appear on registration certificates.”

Legal vulnerabilities: Copyright experts warn the unsigned certificates could face challenges in litigation.

• IP lawyer Rachael Dickson notes that while the law doesn’t explicitly require a signature, “the law really explicitly says that it’s the Register of Copyright determining whether the material submitted for the application is copyrightable subject matter.”
• “If you take them completely out of the equation, you have a really big problem,” Dickson explains. “Litigators who are trying to challenge a copyright registration’s validity will jump on this.”

Broader impacts: The leadership void affects multiple critical functions beyond registration certificates.

• The recertification process for the Mechanical Licensing Collective, which administers royalties for streaming music, is currently stalled.
• The Copyright Claims Board needs to replace a departing member this year, but the appointment process requires both the Librarian of Congress and Copyright Register.
• Future guidance on AI copyright issues remains uncertain while the office lacks confirmed leadership.

What they’re saying: Congressional leaders have taken sides in the dispute over the dismissals’ legality.

• “The president has no authority to remove the Register of Copyrights. That power lies solely with the Librarian of Congress,” Senator Alex Padilla stated, calling the administration’s actions an “unconstitutional attempt to seize control for the executive branch.”
• A congressional aide familiar with the situation told WIRED that the Trump appointees haven’t shown up for work “because they don’t have jobs to show up to.”