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Khan Academy Seeks Patents On Learning Computer Programming, Social Programming
theodp writes: When it announced its brand new Computer Science platform in August 2012, Khan Academy explained it drew inspiration from both Bret Victor and GitHub (SlideShare). Still, that didn't stop Khan Academy from eventually seeking patents on its apparently Victor-inspired Methods and Systems for Learning Computer Programming and GitHub-inspired Systems and Methods for Social Programming, applications for which were quietly disclosed by the USPTO earlier this year. Silicon Valley legal powerhouse Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which provides a pro bono team of 20+ to assist billionaire-backed Khan Academy with its legal needs, filed provisional patent applications for KA in August 2013 — provisional applications can be filed up to 12 months following an inventor's public disclosure of the invention — giving it another 12 months before formal claims had to be filed (KA's non-provisional applications were filed in August 2014).
I'll believe that when they (a) join OIN or something equivalent or (b) grant a free license to those behaving in a civilized manner (developing free software, not suing around for patents, etc).
Up to then I'll consider them borderline trolls, regardless of whether "the lawyers told them to do so" (what a lame excuse, FFS!).
Its no surprise given the name of the academy that it will try to undermine others and take credit for their work. This is 100% the muslim attitude. If it is defensive it will be "defensive" in the same way that Al Qauida is - in that defensive means attacking anyone who might get in your way or that you perceive to be against you in some vague sense.