Transformative Changes: Copyright Leadership Dismissed as AI Report Questions Industry Practices
Patent – Patently-O 2025-05-12
Summary:
by Dennis Crouch
The copyright world experienced a major shift in May 2025 with the abrupt dismissal of Dr. Carla Hayden (Librarian of Congress), followed by the release of a landmark U.S. Copyright Office report on AI training that concluded many current industry practices likely do not qualify as fair use, and culminating in the firing of Shira Perlmutter (Register of Copyrights) just after the report's publication. This drama is not a resolution of the legal question, but rather seems to intensify and further politicize the debates over whether AI developers must seek permission and pay for the copyrighted works they use to train their systems. As the report's opening paragraphs explain: "The stakes are high, and the consequences are often described in existential terms."
- Read the Report: Copyright-and-Artificial-Intelligence-Part-3-Generative-AI-Training-Report-Pre-Publication-Version
The report released last week in "pre-publication" form, titled "Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 3: Generative AI Training," is the latest installment in the Copyright Office's attempt at comprehensive examination of AI's intersection with copyright law. AI training often requires uploading of entire copyrighted works into the systems, and so is easily categorized as prima facie copyright infringement -- absent a license or fair use excuse.