Former publisher of Hachette UK’s Fleet imprint Ursula Doyle has reached an undisclosed settlement with the company. Doyle filed a discrimination complaint in summer 2024, writing on a fundraising page for legal fees that she faced online harassment from colleagues for publishing Kathleen Stock’s 2020 “gender critical” book Material Girls and that the company did nothing to protect her from the abuse. Doyle also claimed in a statement that the company discriminated against her “by introducing a trans-inclusion policy, which explicitly allows men who say they are women to use women’s toilets and shower facilities.” Doyle wrote in an update […]
Legal
Judge Denies Copyright Office Director’s Request to Block Her Firing
Judge Timothy J. Kelly denied former Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump Administration from firing her at a hearing on Wednesday. In a lawsuit filed last week, Perlmutter argued that the president does not have the authority to appoint or remove the director of the Copyright Office. Yesterday the judge ruled that Perlmutter did not show how her firing would cause her irreparable harm, the AP reports. If Perlmutter seeks a preliminary injunction, the judge set a deadline of this afternoon for the parties to propose case scheduling.
Full Court of Appeals Reverses Previous Rulings, Supports Texas Library’s Book Removals
A full en banc ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned both a lower-court decision and a Court of Appeals ruling that had found a Texas library’s removal of books was a violation of the First Amendment, in a 10-7 decision. Last year, a regular three-person Court of Appeals panel ruled that the Llano County Library could not remove books based on their content, writing that, “Government actors may not remove books from a public library with the intent to deprive patrons of access to ideas with which they disagree.” The titles at issue included books about […]
Judge in Copyright Suit Opines that Anthropic Both Violated Copyright and Engaged in Fair Use
In a hearing yesterday for the California-based Federal case of authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson versus Anthropic for the training of the tech company’s AI model, Judge William Alsup gave a balanced indication of his thoughts on the matter, Bloomberg Law reports. “I’m inclined to say they did violate the Copyright Act but the subsequent uses were fair use,” Alsup said. “That’s kind of the way I’m leaning right now.” Alsup noted that he still has to make his final decision. “Sometimes I say that and change my mind,” he said. That line of thinking could […]
Former Copyright Office Director Sues Trump Administration Over Firing
Former Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office Shira Perlmutter filed a lawsuit against the acting librarian of congress and the Trump Administration after the White House fired her this month. Defendants in the suit include “Claimed Acting Librarian of Congress Todd Blanche, Claimed Acting Register of Copyrights Paul Perkins,” Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Sergio Gor, Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Trent Morse, and President Trump. Perlmutter argues that only the Librarian of Congress has the power to appoint or remove the register of copyrights–not the president. She also […]
Authors Guild Files Suit to Reinstate NEH Grants
The Authors Guild has filed a lawsuit seeking class action status against DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities to reinstate the NEH grants that were withdrawn in April. The organization’s co-plaintiffs include several scholars who had their grants revoked, many of whom were working on book projects. According to the filing, at least 1,400 grants were canceled, amounting to approximately $175 million. The AG argues that the termination of grants was unlawful, as well as deeply disruptive to grantees who were in the middle of their projects and “were required to forego other employment or compensation opportunities during […]