Trump Fires Top Copyright Official After AI Training Report

President Trump has dismissed the top copyright official in the United States, Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Why it matters:

• The move comes days after the U.S. Copyright Office issued a pre-publication version of a report on copyright and artificial intelligence.

• As per Music Business Worldwide (MBW), the report "seems to take a stance" that "training AI on copyrighted songs without licensing likely exceeds 'fair use' definitions in the United States".

• According to Politico, less than 24 hours after the report was made available (Saturday May 10) the White House advised Perlmutter her role was "terminated".

• Congressman Joe Morelle alleged it's "no coincidence [Trump] acted less than a day after [Perlmutter] refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models".

The implications:

• According to MBW, Perlmutter's sacking comes in the wake of OpenAI openly lobbying Trump to weaken copyright protections.

• There are concerns this latest move signals Trump's willingness to sacrifice creators' rights in favor of AI development.