The Writers Guild of America East is calling for the reinstatement of the Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, tying her dismissal by the Trump administration to a release of a report on AI and copyright.
The WGAE said that Perlmutter was “unlawfully fired,” and noted that it came after the release of a report that failed to give credence to the argument that the use of copyrighted material in AI training models was a fair use.
The guild said in its statement, “The Writers Guild of America East agrees with the report’s assessment that artificial intelligence companies that train their systems through unauthorized access to copyrighted materials “goes beyond established fair use boundaries” and causes harm to copyright owners.
“The findings issued under Perlmutter’s authority stand in contrast to the opinion and financial interests of billionaires like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, Trump allies who own AI companies and want to freely steal copyrighted works to train their AI systems and undermine the dozens of copyright lawsuits against their companies.”
The guild went on to demand her reinstatement “as she is an employee of the legislative branch and the executive branch had no authority to fire her in the first place.”
Trump also fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter. Even though Todd Blanche has been named acting Librarian of Congress, there has been some pushback even among Republican lawmakers over the president’s efforts to seize control of the institution, per Politico.
The Trump administration also has sought to install Brian Nieves, a Justice Department official, as deputy librarian, and Paul Perkins, the associate deputy attorney general, as acting register of copyrights and director of the office. But they were not allowed into the office on Monday and left, as officials at the office are awaiting direction from Congress as it is a legislative branch agency, according to a source familiar with what happened.
Another industry union, IATSE, also has come to the defense of Perlmutter.
“This is a developing situation, and whether in fact Perlmutter’s firing was in retaliation for releasing the AI report is unclear,” the union stated. “However, it wouldn’t surprise us to learn that tech billionaires are wielding their influence to interfere in our government for their own financial benefit. Shira Perlmutter has served with distinction as Register of Copyrights and she must be reinstated at the behest of Congress.”