David Lowell Ladd (September 18, 1926 – October 12, 1994) was a former Commissioner of Patents and Register of Copyrights in the United States, the first (and currently only) individual to serve in both offices.

[1] In 1961, Ladd was appointed to lead the U.S. Patent Office by President John F. Kennedy.

Like Ringer, Ladd was seen as a strong advocate for authors' rights, and he adopted the position that the Copyright Office should play an active role in favor of copyright protection in public policy discussions.

[3] Ladd was succeeded by Donald Curran in 1985 and returned to private practice at Wiley, Rein & Fielding.

This biography of a person who has held a non-elected position in the federal government of the United States is a stub.