Judge Denies Fired Register of Copyrights' Longshot Bid to Keep Her Job

For a second time in three weeks, a federal judge has denied fired Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter's bid to keep her job.

In a brief, four-page ruling this week, judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, once again declined to issue a preliminary injunction, holding that Perlmutter has still failed to show that her removal is causing her "irreparable harm."

"The Court will deny Perlmutter’s motion because she has not shown that she faces irreparable harm, 'grave' or otherwise, absent an injunction pending appeal. She presents the same three irreparable-harm arguments the Court has already considered and rejected twice," Kelly wrote. "Perlmutter has given the Court no reason to reconsider its prior conclusions that she has not established that she will suffer irreparable harm absent preliminary injunctive relief."

The decision comes after Kelly on July 30 denied Perlmutter's initial bid for an injunction, after previously denying her bid for a temporary restraining order. Perlmutter appealed Kelly's July 30 decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but, in a longshot bid, she also filed an emergency motion on August 4, asking the judge to keep her in her job until the appeals court weighed in.

That motion never stood a chance. In her filing, Perlmutter merely reiterated several claims that Kelly had already dismissed, twice, including that she is being “irreparably harmed” by not being able to do her job as the “lawful” Register of Copyrights. The motion also stressed that the administration's efforts to fire her "directly threaten" the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office, including by giving the executive branch "unlawful access to confidential Congressional correspondence and other materials."

But holding that "such relief in government-personnel cases" is permitted only in “a genuinely extraordinary situation,” Kelly reiterated his conclusion that "the temporary loss" of a "statutory right to function" does not meet the "genuinely extraordinary" standard. In addition, Kelly emphasized that Perlmutter "cannot rely on alleged harms to the Library or Copyright Office," because she must show that "she—not third parties—will be irreparably harmed."

The decision leaves the appeals court as the next avenue for Perlmutter, although at this point Perlmutter's best bet remains winning her case before Kelly on the merits, with several lawyers telling Words & Money that, despite the administrations claims, the President almost certainly doesn't have the authority to fire her, or to appoint an acting Librarian of Congress.

To that end, Kelly, in an August 8 order, set a fairly swift schedule to hear the case. Perlmutter's motion for summary judgment is due on September 8, with the case set to be fully briefed by October 14. Oral argument is set for November 4, in Kelly's Washington D.C. courtroom.

The problem, however, is that the wheels of justice tend to grind slowly, and without injunctive relief keeping Perlmutter in place, some impacts on the Copyright Office could prove irreversible, even if Perlmutter does eventually prevail on the merits.

Furthermore, even if Perlmutter is successful on the merits, it may not matter—at least not for long. Trump can effectively end the dispute by appointing a permanent Librarian of Congress, who, after senate confirmation, could legally remove Perlmutter and install a new register of copyrights.