Supreme Court Allows Top Copyright Official to Retain Position

WHO:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Shira Perlmutter is the director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - President Trump attempted to fire Shira Perlmutter.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Carla Hayden was the former Librarian of Congress.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Todd Blanche was the deputy attorney general and was appointed by Trump as the acting librarian of Congress.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Judge Florence Pan is a U.S. Circuit Judge who ruled on the case.

WHAT:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - The Supreme Court rejected President Trump's effort to remove Shira Perlmutter from her position.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - The Supreme Court's decision allows Perlmutter to remain in her post while her case is reviewed by lower courts.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - The Supreme Court specified that its denial of the Trump administration's request for emergency relief is not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit restored Perlmutter to her job.

WHERE:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - The case involves the U.S. Copyright Office, which is part of the Library of Congress.

WHEN:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Perlmutter was fired a day after releasing a report on artificial intelligence and copyright.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Carla Hayden was appointed librarian of Congress in 2016.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Perlmutter was tapped as register of copyrights in 2020.

WHY:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Trump attempted to fire Perlmutter after she released a report suggesting that some copyrighted works used to train artificial intelligence models would likely require licensing.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Perlmutter argued that her position is part of the legislative branch, which should make her out of Trump's reach.

HOW:

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - The Trump administration argued that the register of copyrights performs executive functions and should be considered part of the executive branch.

[12:39 PM EDT] - CBS News - Perlmutter's lawyers argued that the Trump administration's actions were unlawful and that the Library of Congress is part of the legislative branch.

(UPDATED June 30, 2026 17:42 UTC)

The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's attempt to remove Shira Perlmutter from her role as director of the U.S. Copyright Office, allowing her to stay in her position while her case is reviewed by lower courts. This decision follows a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that restored Perlmutter to her job after she was fired shortly after releasing a report on artificial intelligence and copyright. Perlmutter's legal team contends that her position is part of the legislative branch, while the Trump administration argued that the register of copyrights performs executive functions.