After promising to wait for Al’s analysis before publishing mine, I mistook his initial post for his final word and jumped the gun. Al’s own blow-by-blow analysis is up now. As you’ll see, we’re in pretty close agreement on it.
Alfred-Essa
(Almost) Back in the Saddle Again
Well, after a week of being crushed in moving boxes, I’ve managed to dig out enough to find my computer. Lucky for me Al Essa posted a week-in-review summary of the Blackboard EduPatentGate drama that helped me get back up to speed. Al has been doing a fantastic job of attacking the problem from a […]
Tim O'Reilly Picks Up the Blackboard Story
Word keeps spreading in successively broader circles. Meanwhile, if you are following this issue and have not yet subscribed to Al Essa’s blog, do yourself a favor and do so right away. His series of posts dissecting the patent continue to edify.
The Blackboard Patent Crisis at Two and a Half Weeks
While marveling the events of the last several weeks, Jim Farmer suggested that it might be worthwhile to pause and reflect back on the sequence of events. I thought that was a good idea, so here it is. I don’t claim that it is any sense a definitive history. To the contrary, it’s just my […]
Conversation with My Own Imaginary Spinmeister
Me: Blackboard has an imaginary spinmeister! Oh NO! Spinmeister: Oh, that guy. I wouldn’t worry too much about him. He was Joe Lieberman’s imaginary spinmeister. He’s not exactly the sharpest imaginary pencil in the imaginary box, if you know what I mean. Me: But…their imaginary spinmeister said that this will all just blow over if […]
A Good Visual Analysis of the Blackboard Patent Claims
Al Essa has taken my translation of the patent claims to the next level. It’s a very clear, useful, and succinct explanation of just what the patent says Blackboard is claiming to have invented. I don’t think it can be boiled down any simpler than this.
Blackboard, Copyright, and Patents
Al Essa has a great post up that covers the basic differences between a copyright and a patent as well as laying the groundwork for a dissection of Blackboard’s claims (presumably forthcoming). In the meantime, I am in the process of translating the 44 claims in their patent into plain English. When you see what […]