December 2006 — News

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Blackboard, SFLC Go Head to Head at Sakai Conference

by Dave Nagel

The Players

Blackboard: Developer of e-learning solutions, holder of controversial patent covering related technologies.

Software Freedom Law Center: Filed a request on behalf of its clients Sakai, Moodle and ATutor to have Blackboard's patent reexamined and revoked.

Sakai: Open-source developer of e-learning solutions.

Moodle: Open-source developer of e-learning solutions.

ATutor: Open-source developer of e-learning solutions.

Desire2Learn: Commercial developer, object of Blackboard's current patent-infringement suit.

12.07.2006—How will Blackboard Inc.'s e-learning patent affect software developers? Will the patent hold up to reexamination? Is there any room for proprietary technologies in education? These topics and more were addressed at a head to head meeting Dec. 6 between Blackboard Senior Vice President and General Counsel Matthew Small and Software Freedom Law Center Chairman Eben Moglen at the 2006 Sakai Conference in Atlanta.

As we've reported previously, the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) last month filed a request with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to reexamine Blackboard's patent on "Internet-based education support system and methods." The SFLC maintains that the patent is invalid, claiming that the patent has no merit and that, what's more, there's no room in education software development for such patents. The SFLC has said that Blackboard's patent and its subsequent patent infringement suit against competitor Desire2Learn (currently in litigation) signal an aggressive move on the part of Blackboard that could stifle innovation and impact open-source developers, as well as commercial developers.

For its part, Blackboard has maintained that its patent is valid and that a reexamination by the USPTO will only serve to strengthen that patent. Furthermore, Blackboard has also said that it has no intention whatsoever of targeting open-source projects with any kind of legal action. This has not reassured the SFLC, which filed its request with the USPTO on behalf of open-source developers Sakai, Moodle and ATutor.

During the discussion at the Sakai conference, the SFLC's Moglen painted a picture of Blackboard as an aggressor and said that the reexamination is, essentially, only the beginning of a defensive action designed to "disarm" Blackboard.

Reexamination of the patent