Blackboard has an (apparently) new area on their web site devoted to patent issues, which includes a somewhat defensive FAQ:
Why has Blackboard developed a patent portfolio?
We have invested heavily in the research and development of our products (well over $100m). Few other companies have committed such resources to learning technologies designed specifically for educators. Patents help ensure that companies that do not make comparable investments cannot simply rely on copying to develop their products. While we believe that there is a large body of freely available ideas and technology within the industry, we seek to protect our most important technological advances with patents. Globally, we have over 30 patents and patents pending.
I suspect they’ve received a few calls and emails on the issue.
tags: blackboard patent
I wonder if they will blog on this one??? 😉
Someone posted some anti blackboard logos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88137165@N00/
The patent was filed in 1999. There is plenty, no I mean *plenty* of priot art that makes this claim to intellectual property indefensible.
Blackboard have (as of 2 months ago) lauched an expansion campaign in the UK (no patent applies).
I’m hoping the line on these sorts of patents is drawn and defended here. It has to happen somewhere and over some issue. Why not on education, knowledge and learning. After all the ‘e-‘ was superfluous and obvious from the start.
I don’t understand how these things can happen. Not only is this an obvious use of Web technology, an attribute which is supposed to quash any patent, but it has also been in use for some number of years by many companies and groups.
I think I will patent A Method for Providing a Course to Remotely Located Recipients. This method uses Television Cameras at the source site. These are coupled air pressure modulation detectors (or Micophones) and Radio Transmitters. At the receiving site are located a set of Radio Receivers, ElectroMagneto activated air pressure modulators (we call them Speakers) and Televisions. The teacher, or Instructor, delivers the course material at the source site in view of the Television Cameras and in within range of the Microphones. Said course material is then transmitted via radio waves to the remote radio receivers where it is reconstituted into moving images and sound by that remote equipment. The remote attendees, or Students, then absorb the course material as though they were in the same room with the Instructor.
Dave
So, can we do a follow-up on Blackboard by the Numbers to re-compute the constituent costs of a Blackboard license?
I don’t see Blackboard having any problem clearing anti-trust scrutiny to finally buy D2L because of the competition from Sakai, Moodle, and the rest of the open source lot. But the purchase, through litigation expense and eventually cash, won’t be cheap. While it will consolidate Blackboard’s lead on the commercial side, it also sets up a sharp contrast, and I think, brings a strong advantage to the open source side in this increasingly bi-polar landscape.
That’s a good point, Sam. Somebody should run the numbers.