Media Roundup & Court Filings: “US Copyright Office Director Sues Trump Administration Over Firing”

UPDATE (May 28, 2025) Judge Declines to Immediately Block Trump’s Effort to Fire Register of Copyrights (via Deadline)

Court Filings

• Full Text of Complaint (14 pages; via CourtListener)
• Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (4 pages; via CourtListener)
• Complete Case Docket

Media Reports

From Politico:

The former head of the U.S. Copyright Office has filed suit against the Trump administration, arguing her abrupt ouster from the position violated the Constitution’s separation of powers.

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“Congress vested the Librarian of Congress—not the President—with the power to appoint, and therefore to remove, the Register of Copyrights,” the lawsuit said. “Accordingly, the President’s attempt to remove Ms. Perlmutter was unlawful and ineffective.”

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Those named in the suit include Todd Blanche, Trump’s pick to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress; Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office; and Paul Perkins, who the administration tapped to replace Perlmutter as register of copyrights.

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From Reuters:

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. A spokesperson for the Copyright Office and an attorney for Perlmutter declined to comment.

Perlmutter asked the court to block the Trump appointees from taking the acting positions and declare that she remains the Copyright Office’s director.

Read the Complete Article

From Courthouse News Service

On May 9, the office issued a report finding that some uses of copyrighted works in generative AI training could run afoul of fair use laws. Perlmutter says she received an email terminating her as Register of Copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright office the next day.

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“The president has no authority to name a temporary replacement Librarian of Congress, much less name a high-ranking DOJ official whose presence offends the constitutional separation of powers,” she writes in the suit.

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Perlmutter, represented by the D.C.-based Democracy Forward Foundation and the LA-based Munger, Tolles & Olson, brings a pair of claims of constitutional violation against Trump and asks for the court to place an injunction preventing Blanche and the other DOJ officials from exercising any library or copyright office powers. She also asks the court to block her own firing and declare that she remains the rightful Register of Copyrights.

Read the Complete Article

See Also: Trump Fires Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office (Media Reports, Statements)

Statements

Authors Alliance:  Perlmutter v. Blanche – Register of Copyrights Sues Trump Over His Attempt to Remove Her 

Filed under: Conference Presentations, Libraries, News, Reports, Roundup