E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of April 27, 2009

We have long pondered the question of whether the Internet will kill newspapers.  Now comes word that 11 of the 25 largest U.S. newspapers have lost at least 10% of their circulation.

"A New Jersey judge who allowed a lawyer to plug an evidentiary gap with a Wikipedia page has been reversed on the ground that the online encyclopedia that "anyone can edit" is not a reliable source of information."  We've previously addressed this issue and concluded that "it would be foolish to rely on Wikipedia for any but the most mundane and uncontroversial facts."

"An Oklahoma City man who allegedly threatened on Twitter to turn a tax protest into a massacre has been arrested on suspicion of making interstate threats in what is believed to be the first federal prosecution based on posts made to the micro-blogging site."

"CBS's Internet unit won the right to use National Football League players' names and statistics for free in fantasy sports leagues it sponsors after a judge ruled the information is in the public domain. . . . The ruling is the latest setback for professional sports leagues and players unions looking to control the fantasy market. As many as 15 million people participate in fantasy football leagues, generating more than $1 billion a year in revenue, court documents show. "

Each weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.