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The U.S. Copyright Office quietly posted a pre-publication version of its AI and fair use report just one day before Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter was dismissed by the Trump administration. The 108-page document addresses how copyright law should apply to using protected works for AI training, often siding with creators over tech platforms. The report concludes that AI training datasets “clearly implicate the right of reproduction” and suggests model weights themselves may constitute copyright infringement when they retain substantial protected expression. It rejects arguments that AI training is merely “non-expressive” or analogous to human learning, while advancing a “market dilution” theory that AI-generated content could harm original creators through volume and stylistic imitation. But the report also notes that many uses of AI may qualify as fair use and that many factors need to be considered to make a judgement on any particular case. The report’s future as official policy remains uncertain following the controversial dismissals of both Perlmutter and Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden. (U.S. Copyright Office and Copyright Lately)