Abraham L. Kaminstein

Abraham Lewis Kaminstein (May 13, 1912, New York City, New York—September 10, 1977) was the sixth United States Register of Copyrights. He first entered the role in an acting capacity after the death of his predecessor, Arthur Fisher, in November 1960. The Librarian of Congress, L. Quincy Mumford, officially appointed him on December 24, 1960, and he served until August 31, 1971, when he resigned due to poor health and was succeeded by George D. Cary.

Abraham L. Kaminstein
6th Register of Copyrights
In office December 24, 1960 – August 31, 1971
Preceded by	Arthur Fisher
Succeeded by	George D. Cary
Personal details
Born	(1912-05-13)May 13, 1912 New York City, New York, U.S
Died	September 10, 1977(1977-09-10) (aged 65) Washington, D.C., U.S
Alma mater	College of the City of New York (BSS), Harvard Law School (LLB, LLM)

Early life and education

Abraham L. Kaminstein, was born on May 13, 1912, in New York City. He went to public schools there and in 1932 obtained a BSS degree from the College of the City of New York. In 1935, he received the LLB degree and in 1936, the LLM degree from the Harvard Law School, where he was a research fellow in 1936 and 1937. He began his government career in the latter year and served as an attorney in various agencies before coming to the Copyright Office.

Career

Starting in the 1950s, Kaminstein was instrumental in initiating the early research that eventually culminated in a general revision of the copyright law in the United States and the Copyright Act of 1976. He was a major delegate of the United States to meetings of parties to the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.