Copyright Clash: Trump Fires US Copyright Chief Over AI Stance
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed Shira Perlmutter, Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, according to reports by CBS News and Politico. The move follows Perlmutter’s recent report advocating for copyright protections in AI training, a position that contradicts the interests of Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter. TechCrunch also reported on the development.
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelle denounced the dismissal, calling it an “abuse of executive power.” The contested report raised concerns that large-scale use of copyrighted material for training commercial AI models may fall outside the bounds of existing “fair use” policies.
Prior to Perlmutter's removal, Trump had also dismissed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who had appointed Perlmutter to the position.
Elon Musk has previously taken a public stance against copyright protections, fueling ongoing controversy in both the technology and creative industries.
