44 Blackboard patent claims invalidated

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a presentation for the upcoming CCCC Convention in New Orleans on using Facebook for course communication and online course management, so this report jumped out at me.

Blackboard, the company that dominates the market for university courseware and distance-learning software, had 44 of their patent claims rejected by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Apparently, this isn’t the final word on the topic; Desire2Learn, which recently lost a patent infringement suit to Blackboard, is reporting on their patent information website (no permalink) that the judgment is subject to appeal. It seems, though, that this will be some good news if it can help loosen Blackboard’s dominant position in this space.

via Kairosnews