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Shira Perlmutter

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Shira Perlmutter
14th Register of Copyrights
In office
October 25, 2020 – May 10, 2025
Appointed byCarla Hayden
Preceded byMaria Strong (acting)
Succeeded byPaul Perkins (acting, disputed)[1]
Personal details
Born1956 (age 68–69)
RelativesSaul Perlmutter (brother)
EducationHarvard University (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)

Shira Perlmutter (born 1956) is an American attorney, a law professor, and the 14th Register of Copyrights who oversaw the United States Copyright Office within the Library of Congress.[2] Perlmutter has given public lectures on copyright, stating that Americans desire copyright laws that make sense, that are fair, and that reflect the technologies currently in use.[3] She has stated a desire for laws that keep pace with technology.[3]

Perlmutter was the chief policy officer and director for international affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.[4] She is a research fellow at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre at Oxford University.[5] She co-authored a leading casebook: International Intellectual Property Law and Policy.[5]

Prior to that, she was executive vice president for global legal policy at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[4] She was vice president and associate general counsel for intellectual property policy at Time Warner.[4] In 1995, she was appointed to be the first associate register for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office.[6] She was the copyright consultant to the Clinton administration’s Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure in 1994–95.[6]

Early life and education

Perlmutter was born in 1956 to Felice Davidson Perlmutter, a social work and social administration professor, and Daniel Perlmutter, a chemical engineering professor.[7] She and her two siblings, her sister, Tova, and her brother, Saul, who is a 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics, were raised and educated near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attending Quaker schools.[7][8]

Perlmutter is a graduate of Harvard University, which awarded her an A.B. degree in linguistics.[8] She earned her J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[4] After graduating from law school, she worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison doing general commercial litigation.[8]

In 2020, she was appointed to head the U.S. Copyright Office by the Librarian of Congress, the official who has overseen the position since the creation of the office in 1897.[8]

Firing

Perlmutter was fired by the Trump administration, according to reporting on May 10, 2025. The firing came after Perlmutter and her office issued a lengthy report about artificial intelligence, questioning the use of copyrighted materials to train AI.[9][10] Perlmutter has sued to dispute the legality of the dismissal,[11] as the Register is appointed by, and responsible to, the Librarian of Congress.

Congressman Joe Morelle criticized the firing, speculating that Perlmutter was fired because "she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models".[12]

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter to the office within the library, had been fired abruptly and without explanation by Trump earlier in the week,[12] drawing similar criticism.[10] New personnel for both positions have not yet been nominated as of 12 May 2025.

References

  1. ^ https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/library-of-congress-trump-takeover-carla-hayden-00349275
  2. ^ "U.S. Copyright Office Welcomes New Register". Copyright Office NewsNet. No. 857. U.S. Copyright Office. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Perlmutter, Shira (2017-10-24). "From Paralysis to Progress: The (Useful) Art of Copyright Pragmatism". CUA Law Scholarship Repository. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  4. ^ a b c d "Shira Perlmutter". USPTO. 2012-01-13. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  5. ^ a b "Shira Perlmutter". University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School • Penn Law. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  6. ^ a b "Saul Perlmutter Biographical". Nobel Prize. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  7. ^ a b c d "Directing IP in DC". The Journal. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  8. ^ Tully-McManus, Katherine (2025-05-10). "Trump fires top US copyright official". Politico. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  9. ^ a b Belanger, Ashley (2025-05-12). "Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn't always fair use". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  10. ^ Smith, Dylan, Fired Copyright Office Head Shira Perlmutter Sues Trump Administration Over ‘Blatantly Unlawful’ Dismissal, Digital Music News, May 23, 2025
  11. ^ a b MacFarlane, Scott (May 10, 2025). "Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say". CBS. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
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