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Blackboard Patenting Educational Groupware

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the well-now-isn't-that-special dept.

chizz writes "Online learning provider Blackboard announced the other day that it has patented the Learning Management System (LMS). The very same day it went after Desire2Learn for Patent infringement in a truly Salt Lake City kinda way. A great many educators are a bit shook up by this, and are stockpiling prior art all over the place. "

2 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. ANother example by teflaime · · Score: 5, Informative

    of the incompetence in the US patent office. There is nothing patentable about Blackboard. It introduces nothing new to teaching, to learning, or anything. It's a horrible patent, and I hope the court finds the patent invalid. Besides, Mallard was the first online teaching environment, so UIUC should be suing Blackboard.

  2. I'm actually at the D2L user's conference now... by citking · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...in Guelph Canada. I'm typing this in a session about the new features in 8.1 :)

    The CEO of D2L, John Baker, wrote this LMS while a grad student enrolled at the University of Guelph in Ontario Canada. The facts scream "prior art" and Blackboard really has no case IMHO. I think the strategy here, as John put it, is to sue D2L to a point where it'd be in D2L's best interest to avoid expensive litigation and just get taken over by Blackboard. The hidden backstory here is that Blackboard wants so badly to take over D2L but D2L doesn't want any part of that. So Blackboard takes the other, more scenic route: sue them into oblivion.

    I can almost guarantee that Blackboard will lose this suit. The fact that D2L existed before Blackboard was even a gleam in the eye of its writer is 98% of the case.

    In any way, John was so confident about his ability to win this suit he gave us all extra drink tickets! :)

    --
    "This food is problematic."