Sam Bass Warner

Who was Sam Bass Warner?

Sam Bass Warner was the fourth Register of Copyrights in the United States Copyright Office.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1889, Warner attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Prior to entering the Copyright Office, he specialized in criminal law, writing several books and articles and teaching at the University of Oregon Law School, Syracuse Law School, and Harvard Law School. Warner was enlisted in the United States Army, serving in World War I as an aerial observer and later as an attorney in the War Production Board during World War II.

Warner served as Register of Copyrights from February 1, 1945 until May 28, 1951. During his tenure, he oversaw many improvements in the Office and its registration procedures. Most notably, he reorganized the many disparate units of the Office into four divisions – Cataloging, Examining, Reference, and Service.

Sam Bass Warner died on April 23, 1979, in Guilford, Connecticut.