Statement on the Firing of Shira Perlmutter and the Release of the U.S. Copyright Office’s Report on Generative AI Training

NEW YORK, NY (May 16, 2025)—The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) on the firing of Shira Perlmutter and the release of the U.S. Copyright Office’s Report on Generative AI Training:

“Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights, has been unlawfully fired by the Trump Administration following the release of the U.S. Copyright Office’s report, “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 3: Generative AI Training.”

“The Writers Guild of America East agrees with the report’s assessment that artificial intelligence companies that train their systems through unauthorized access to copyrighted materials “goes beyond established fair use boundaries” and causes harm to copyright owners.

“The findings issued under Perlmutter’s authority stand in contrast to the opinion and financial interests of billionaires like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, Trump allies who own AI companies and want to freely steal copyrighted works to train their AI systems and undermine the dozens of copyright lawsuits against their companies.

“The Guild demands the immediate reinstatement of Perlmutter as she is an employee of the legislative branch and the executive branch had no authority to fire her in the first place. We stand with Perlmutter and the U.S. Copyright Office in their fight against the theft of copyrighted works.”

ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST
The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO, is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org.

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