A US appeals court has thrown a wrench into the White House's attempt to oust US Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter, ruling that the president likely has no authority to fire her.

The DC Circuit's [1]ruling grants Perlmutter an injunction, meaning she keeps her job while the case grinds on. The court said the Copyright Act makes clear that only the Librarian of Congress, not the president, can remove the register of copyrights, adding that Trump's effort to install two executive branch officials – US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche and associate deputy attorney general Paul Perkins in the roles of librarian of Congress and register of copyrights, respectively – was "likely unlawful".

In other words, the White House can't just email the nation's top copyright official and tell her to pack up her desk.

[2]

For tech firms, this is more than just political theater. The Copyright Office's AI report – the one that allegedly triggered the firing – [3]warned that commercial AI training that competes with original works may require permission or licensing, a position that could add major costs for model builders. If the office's leadership could be swapped out whenever its findings upset the White House, the already murky copyright rules around AI could become even harder to navigate.

[4]

[5]

The battle started back in May, when Perlmutter released the report questioning whether tech firms can scrape creators' work without paying for it and still claim fair use. Less than 24 hours later, the Presidential Personnel Office said she was "terminated effective immediately." The White House then appointed an acting librarian of Congress, who in turn installed an acting register. [6]Perlmutter sued , arguing her firing was unlawful and that it undermined Congress's ability to get independent advice on copyright policy at a time when AI is rewriting the rules.

"When Perlmutter's AI Report was released, the President allegedly disagreed with the recommendations," the judges wrote in Wednesday's ruling. "And the next day — a Saturday — the White House Presidential Personnel Office notified Perlmutter by email that she had been terminated from her position 'effective immediately.'"

[7]AI can't be woke and regulators should be asleep, Senator Cruz says

[8]Anarchy in the AI: Trump's desire to supercharge US tech faces plenty of hurdles

[9]How many federal agencies does it take to regulate AI? Enough to hold it back

[10]No chips for you! Senator wants Americans to get first dibs on GPUs, restrict sales to others

The court agreed Perlmutter had a strong case and said losing her position would cause "irreparable harm", not just to her, but to Congress, which relies on the office for research and recommendations on thorny issues like AI training data. The majority opinion also noted that keeping her in place serves the public interest because lawmakers are in the middle of deciding how copyright law should handle generative AI.

Not everyone on the bench was convinced. Judge Walker argued that even if the firing was improper, leaving a potentially unlawful removal uncorrected does more harm than letting the president's pick run the office. But for now, Perlmutter stays.

[11]

The case is almost certain to head for further appeals, so expect more courtroom drama before this power struggle is settled. In the meantime, Perlmutter is back at her desk, and AI companies will be watching her next move very closely. ®

Get our [12]Tech Resources



[1] https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/orders/docs/2025/09/25-5285LDSN2.pdf

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aMNGcyJGWw6Y8Cnqz50amAAAAQI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/12/us_copyright_office_ai_copyright/

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMNGcyJGWw6Y8Cnqz50amAAAAQI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aMNGcyJGWw6Y8Cnqz50amAAAAQI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/04/copyright_office_trump_filing/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/10/ai_cruz_sandbox/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/20/opinion_us_govt_ai/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/10/federal_agencies_regulate_ai/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/us_senator_americans_first_ai_sillicon/

[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aMNGcyJGWw6Y8Cnqz50amAAAAQI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/