Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Current News
Patently Offensive
11/1/2006
By Terry Calhoun
Could there be any clearer evidence that the United States patent system is dysfunctional, than the patent awarded to Blackboard? Well, yeah, if you look at the filings, they can get pretty absurd. And now there are whole companies that have never done anything and they’re buying up old patents and finding new ways to clobber people with them.
But this one hits close to home, so we in higher education don’t have to look any further. We know about the history of course management systems: It is our own history. And now Blackboard thinks that it owns it. (But we don’t have to worry because it likes universities and nonprofits. Whew!)
I once interviewed then-Blackboard CEO Matthew Pittinsky for the newsletter of a now-defunct association of Internet professionals. I remember walking into a big, grey Washington, DC building, past the offices of Mitsubishi of America, and entering the Blackboard lobby, which had a foosball table and several, red beanbag chairs, plus a dry-erase board on the wall charting the number of institutions that had at that time at least one faculty member who had adopted Blackboard for use in a course. The numbers were still in double digits.
I’ve watched Blackboard since even before that visit, as well as its commercial competitors and the various open source (Sakai) and proprietary versions. It is patently ridiculous and offensive to the brain to imagine Blackboard legitimately owning a patent that would limit the option for others to implement the basics of course management systems. We all participated in the development of this product. When I visited Blackboard HQ, I didn’t see anyone who looked older than high school age. The whole early business model was clearly predicated on getting users to use it for free and in so doing being participants in the development of the functionality, bringing their maturity and expertise to bear on the development of the tool. As one recent Campus Technology article puts it:
Nearly all of today’s commercially available Learning Management Systems started off as homegrown university systems that were later commercialized. For example, Blackboard started at Cornell University, WebCT [now merged with Blackboard] at University of British Columbia, and Desire2Learn at University of Waterloo. If a group on your campus wished to develop an LMS today, what would be your legal advice on the matter?
Recommended Reading
- Campus Security :: November 14, 2008
:::::: SECURITY SPOTLIGHT
: Smart Phone Security: New Challenges for Road Warriors
:::::: CAMPUS SECURITY NEWS
: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities
: Rave Wireless Adding BlackBerry Devices to Notification Service
: U Miami Trades IPS for Top Layer Security System
: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services- IT Trends :: Thursday, November 13, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Cornell Takes Visual Approach to Data Analysis
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Panopto Launches Hosted Lecture Capture System
:: Microsoft To Add Smooth Streaming in IIS7
:: Agile Solution Provider Rolls Out Java SDK
:: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
:: Parallels Desktop 4.0 Get Performance Boost, DirectX 9.0 Support
:: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
:: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones- C-Level View :: November 12, 2008
:::::: EXECUTIVE VIEW
: Delta iTunes U Enhances Learning in a Familiar Web 2.0 Environment
:::::: WORTH NOTING
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Blackboard Managed Hosting Rolls Out Virtual Operating Environment
: Higher Ed Help Desk Platform Adds Web 2.0 Tools
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities- SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
:::::: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
: Microblogging and Relevancy
:::::: NEWS and PRODUCT UPDATES
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: Dimdim Launches Hosted Virtual Classroom
: ASU School of Engineering Posts 10,000th Lecture with Mediasite
: Lyon College Plans Student Laptop Rollout
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities- News Update :: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
:::::: NEWS
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: ASU and Obsidian Collaboration Seeks to Boost Long-distance Bandwidth
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Plagiarism Detection System Adds URL Filtering, Reporting Groups- IT Trends :: Thursday, November 6, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Small College Makes Big Leap in Wireless
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Washington U Healthcare Researchers Turn to Virtual Storage
:: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
:: BYU-Idaho Turns to Web-based Facilities Management System
:: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services
:: Universities Turn to Oracle for Web-based Services
:: Delgado CC Expands Outsourced Support Agreement with Presidium Learning
:: Security Concerns May Slow Cloud Computing Adoption
