MURRAY STASSEN , Music Business Worldwide; A BILL MOVING THROUGH CONGRESS COULD CHANGE WHO CONTROLS THE US COPYRIGHT OFFICE. HERE’S WHY IT MATTERS FOR THE MUSIC BUSINESS.
"The bill arrives in the middle of an ongoing fight over the US Copyright Office and the firing of its director.
In May 2025, the Trump administration fired top copyright official Shira Perlmutter, a day after her office released a report concluding that training AI on copyrighted works qualifies as fair use in some circumstances but not others.
The administration had first removed Carla D. Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, and installed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian, who then moved to replace Perlmutter with Department of Justice official Paul Perkins.
Perlmutter sued the administration, arguing that only the Librarian of Congress, not the President, has the power to appoint or remove the Register of Copyrights.
A federal appeals court reinstated Perlmutter in September 2025, and she remains in the role while the legal battle continues.
That fight turns on the same question Griffith‘s bill addresses: whether the Register of Copyrights is an executive or a legislative officer...
Running alongside the legislation is the unresolved Perlmutter case.
The Supreme Court declined to act on her firing in late 2025, leaving Perlmutter in place while it weighs related disputes over the President’s power to remove officials.
Both the bill and the lawsuit circle the same question – whether the Register answers to the President or to Congress.
Griffith says a Senate-confirmed Register with a fixed term would give the office steadier leadership and clearer oversight.
Critics counter that a presidential appointee would politicize copyright and AI policy, and could disrupt the registration and deposit systems the Library of Congress depends on."
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