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Search this Site Search Internet Law

• Getting Started
• Primary Sources
  • Federal Statutes
  • Case Law, Administrative Decisions, & Dockets
  • Federal Regulations
  • Proposed Legislation & Legislative History
• Secondary Sources
• Organizations
• News & Current Awareness

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Federal Statutes

The United States Code (U.S.C.) contains the general and permanent laws of the United States, organized into titles based on subject matter. New statutes must be added to or fit into the existing U.S.C. A complete new edition of the U.S.C. (“main edition”) is printed by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) every six years, and five annual cumulative supplements (designated as Supplements I through V) are printed in the intervening years. The U.S.C. currently consists of 54 titles (Title 53 is reserved) and five appendices. The U.S.C. is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (OLRC) of the U.S. House of Representatives pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 285b.

Because the United States Code contains only the general and permanent laws of the United States, not every provision contained in every public law goes into the U.S.C. The OLRC reviews every provision of every public law to determine whether it should go into the U.S.C., and, if so, where. This process is known as U.S. Code classification.

• United States Code (U.S.C.)
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  The official code of federal laws, organized by subject matter. Revised every six years and updated between revisions with annual cumulative supplements.
• United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.)
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  West's unofficial version of the United States Code. More current than the official version and includes many research features.
• United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)
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  Lexis's unofficial version of the United States Code. More current than the official version and includes many research features.

Case Law, Administrative Decisions, & Dockets

The Law Library's Case Law guide provides links and information on how to search for cases.

Topical Reporters and Databases:

• Lexis: Computer & Internet Law Cases
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Federal Case Law Reporters:

• United States Reports (U.S.)
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  Contains the final, official opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States.
• West's Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.)
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  Contains the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States, along with headnotes, Key Numbers, and synopses. Unofficial reporter, but current.
• United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d)
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  Contains the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States, along with summaries, headnotes, and research references. Unofficial reporter, but current.
• Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d)
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  Contains opinions of the United States Courts of Appeals.
• Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d)
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  Contains opinions of the United States District Courts.

Dockets and Analytics:

• Bloomberg Law: Dockets
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  Federal and state court dockets. To see what dockets and documents are available in Bloomberg Law, as well as the dates covered, go to the "Litigation" drop-down and select "Docket Coverage."
• Docket Navigator
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  Covers patent, trademark, and copyright cases. For a free academic account, send an email to [email protected] and provide your first and last name, GW Law email address, and, for students, anticipated date of graduation (month/year); for faculty and deans, your title. Scope of Data
• Lex Machina: Legal Analytics
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  Can be used to gain insight about the litigation behavior of courts, judges, law firms, attorneys, and parties.

Federal Regulations

• Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
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  Codification of final rules published in the Federal Register.
• eCFR (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
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  Currently updated unofficial version of the C.F.R. Produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office.
• Federal Register (Fed. Reg.)
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  Official publication of federal agency rulemaking. Published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Proposed Legislation & Legislative History

Proposed Legislation:

• Congress.gov
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  Official site for U.S. federal legislative information.
• GovTrack
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  Tracks the activities of the United States Congress and the White House to make a more open and accountable government.
• Lexis: Computer & Internet Law: Bill Tracking
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• NCSL: Broadband Legislation Database
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Legislative History:

• HeinOnline: Intellectual Property Legislative Histories
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  Includes compiled legislative histories of intellectual property legislation, including the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996) (including the Communications Decency Act).
• ProQuest Legislative Insight
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  Compiled legislative histories of federal laws, including laws relating to intellectual property.
• ProQuest Congressional
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  Provides current and historical congressional documents, including reports and hearings.

For additional guidance on how to research federal legislative history, see the Law Library's Federal Legislative History guide.

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• Last Updated: Aug 12, 2025 10:21 AM
• URL: https://law.gwu.libguides.com/internetlaw
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Login to LibApps Subjects: Computer and Internet Law, Intellectual Property Tags: cyberlaw, cyberspace, internet, internet law