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).

Comments

Goddamnit

[weilawei]

And I just donated to you fuckers.

Re:Goddamnit

[ThosLives]

Humanity moved beyond pictogram-based languages for a reason, and now the internet - that paragon of human achievement - is moving us back to pictograms again. WTF?

Re:Goddamnit

[lq_x_pl]

Honestly, I appreciate being able to read discussions here without having to fish through Lisa-Frank-esque emoji/emoticon vomit fests.

Re:Goddamnit

[bill_mcgonigle]

Humanity moved beyond pictogram-based languages for a reason, and now the internet - that paragon of human achievement - is moving us back to pictograms again. WTF?

It's about the limbic system. Alphabets are a good invention for low-bandwidth communication (including fingertips) but also "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Defensive

[The Evil Atheist]

It's most likely for a defensive purpose and something that the legal firm advised doing.

Re:Defensive

[weilawei]

This is absurdly broad. Anyone want to venture prior art?

A computer-implemented method for providing output(s) of machine readable instructions comprises providing software comprising one or more lines of machine-readable instructions. The one or more lines are associated with an output upon execution by a computer processor, and the output comprises at least one visual and/or audible component. Next, the software is executed using a computer processor to generate the output. The one or more lines of machine-readable instructions and the output are then displayed on an electronic display of the user. In some cases, the one or more lines of machine-readable instructions and the output are displayed on a web-based user interface on the electronic display. Based on one or more edits received from the user, the one or more lines of machine-readable instructions and the output are then updated. In some cases, the machine-readable instructions are updated without re-executing the software.

Re:Defensive

[mysidia]

It's most likely for a defensive purpose

In other words.... to help prevent competition / defend and prevent against someone else creating a competing service similar to Khan Academy that might take away some of Khan Academy's users, market share, or grant money and threaten KA staffs' ability to get paid.

Re:Defensive

[DoofusOfDeath]

It's most likely for a defensive purpose and something that the legal firm advised doing.

Then we can expect them to issue a legally binding promise to transfer the patent rights to the Patent Commons, yes?

Re:Defensive

[Sarten-X]

If you rearrange the letters...

If I rearrange the letters in that first sentence, I can't make the latter one. I end up with an extra "eeefgghhlmtt", and still need "aiopsvwy".

Lying is evil too, right?

Re:Defensive

[The Evil Atheist]

Khan Academy is a non-profit.

The defensive purpose is against patent trolls who may try to sue the Khan Academy.

Re:Defensive

[Goldsmith]

If that was truly the case, they could have filed the provisional, and then not followed on with the full filing. Or they could have made an announcement that they were simply preventing future lawsuits. Or they could have filed in the name of the actual inventors (which would be far more defensible in court than what they did)... you get the point.

When we're seeing non-profits being accused of corruption, bribery, racketeering, greed, and money laundering on massive scales, simply being a non-profit is not enough to earn the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this.

Re:Defensive

[pubwvj]

Ah! Made you look! :) I wondered how many people would try it... :)

no more answers

[Chrisq]

I've just patented responding to posts.

I don't get it

[msobkow]

How can you patent course material? I could see copyright, but a patent?

I used to like them

[AndyKron]

I used to like them, now fuck them all to hell

Not even wrong...

[Theaetetus]

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,

Well, yes, most improvements in technologies draw inspiration from earlier technologies. The Tesla Roadster draws inspiration from the Model T. The Boeing Dreamliner draws inspiration from the P51 Mustang. Windows 10 draws inspiration from Microsoft Bob. The question isn't "was this inspired by something earlier" but "is this obvious in view of what came earlier?"

... applications for which were quietly disclosed by the USPTO earlier this year.

Also known as "published normally". Patent applications are typically published 18 months after their filing date. There's nothing "quiet" about it - it's included in the official gazette each Tuesday and Google Patents (among other services) take an image of it. But it's a nice attempt by Subby to imply that there's a dark conspiracy here.

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,

This appears to be a reference to the 20-person pro bono committee at Wilson Sonsini. Most law firms have pro bono committees of partners in charge of selecting and approving pro bono work, which is then taken on by junior associates. The committee itself doesn't do the work, so no, they didn't have a "pro bono team of 20+". They probably had a supervising attorney, a patent agent, and a paralegal, donating probably around 50 hours total for the two applications.

... 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

They can also be filed before the public disclosure. They're inexpensive placeholders that you can file without paying fees for search and examination. If you don't file the nonprovisional application within one year, the provisional expires and disappears forever, so they're particularly a good thing for startups who don't have revenue yet.

— giving it another 12 months before formal claims had to be filed (KA's non-provisional applications were filed in August 2014).

Then wouldn't that have been the bigger part of the story to focus on, Subby? The non-provisional applications with legal claims that people can look at to determine whether the patent is valid or invalid?

The wrath of Khan

[Going_Digital]

Just getting their ammunition ready for war with the federation.

First to File

[meustrus]

If they don't patent this, someone else will. Because we now have a "first to file" system, where prior art doesn't matter if the prior artist never patented it. And no, educational methods should not be patentable, but if this patent is granted then they did the right thing. Cheaper to file a patent than defend against a troll later on.

Of course that doesn't mean the patent should be unopposed and shouldn't be given out to the public for free. Khan Academy has no business sealing up their methods as proprietary. But there are no white knights in the patent system. You can't not play the game, you can only lose it to the trolls.

Re:First to File

[Theaetetus]

If they don't patent this, someone else will. Because we now have a "first to file" system, where prior art doesn't matter if the prior artist never patented it.

That's not true at all. The only thing that "first to file" changes from "first to invent" is interference practices: previously, if Alice and Bob both filed patent applications for the same exact invention, they would go onto an interference, which is like a mini-litigation, to determine which of them actually conceived of the invention first. They cost between $20-50k for each party, and there were on average about 20 per year... out of over half a million patent applications filed each year. Under the new system, it's just a question of who filed their application first.

First to file has literally nothing to do with prior art. And prior art that was never patented absolutely matters - white papers, scientific journals, product literature, etc. can be and are all used as prior art, even under the first to file system.

Using patents for good

[Khan Academy]

Like many other technology companies, Khan Academy applies for patents in the normal course of business to protect ourselves and our learners from litigation. We do not profit from our patents nor use them to stifle innovation.

As a not-for-profit organization, and to meet our commitment to using patents for good, we have adopted the Innovator’s Patent Agreement and made it an integral part of our company culture. By signing IPAs with our employees, we safeguard innovation and pledge not to use their patents in offensive litigation without their permission, while retaining the ability to protect ourselves against any company that initiates a lawsuit against us.