Between multiple family visits and a case of the flu that’s had my flat on my back the last couple of days, I’ve fallen even further behind on my backlog of posts than I was upon returning from EDUCAUSE. In the interest of catching up, this post will be short. First, several bloggers have already […]
Matthew-Small
More on Fairness
Stephen Downes thinks I’m being too nice to Blackboard (which is the first time I’ve heard that particular criticism) by giving them too much credit for answering my questions during their webinar. He says it was all “just a needed warmup for court.” I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense. To begin with, I […]
Blackboard Conference Call, Part II
As I said in my previous post, I was allowed to ask quite a few questions of Matthew Small in Blackboard’s patent Q&A webinar tonight. I chose not to ask any regarding the scope or validity of the patent, since I saw no benefit in crossing swords on those issues. Instead, I focused my questions […]
Blackboard Conference Call, Part I
Tonight I listened in on the last in Blackboard’s series of Q&A webinars on their patent. To their credit, they let me ask all of my questions. Matthew Small even extended a personal invitation to me to call him with any follow-up questions. I was very happy with all of that. I was far less […]
Even Microsoft Disagrees with Blackboard
I recently noted that, contrary to Blackboard General Counsel Matthew Small’s assertion that no patent holder can say for certain what they will or will not do with a patent, IBM has done exactly that by providing royalty-free licenses to linux on hundreds of their patents. But hey, that’s IBM. They’re into all that crazy […]
Hiding Falsehoods and FUD Behind Legalisms
In a recent article in the Windsor Star, everyone’s favorite plain talker, Blackboard General Counsel Matthew Small, made the following statement: “No patent holder can definitely say, ‘I will not do X with my patent.’ However, I can say very confidently that we are focusing on the commercial sector.” The first half of this statement […]
An Example of How the Blackboard Patent Could Chill Innovation
Blackboard’s General Counsel Matthew Small has said that their patent and lawsuit is “not about hindering innovation.” It’s important that we not allow this claim to go unchallenged. I’d like to start gathering concrete examples of initiatives that are beneficial to the educational community and could be directly harmed by Blackboard’s actions. I’ll start. The […]