Caso Blackboard (II): Blackboard Announces Patent Pledge in Support of Open Source Software and Home-Grown Course Management Systems

Seguimos con el caso Blackboard, lo que más me ha gustado es que Blackboard haya creado un icono para el caso Blackboard, aunque ellos lo llaman about Blackboard Patent…. Lo considerará algo importante? 😉

Blackboard Announces Patent Pledge in Support of Open Source Software and Home-Grown Course Management Systems

Washington, DC, February 1, 2007 – Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise technology to the education community, announced today a “Patent Pledge” in support of learning institutions worldwide that use or develop open source and home-grown course management software as well as the commercial entities supporting them.

In summary, the Blackboard Patent Pledge is a promise by the company to never assert its issued or pending course management system software patents against open source software or home-grown course management systems. The Blackboard Pledge is legally binding, irrevocable and worldwide in scope.

“As a member of the e-Learning community, we are committed to the open exchange of ideas, collaboration and innovation,” said Michael Chasen, president and chief executive officer of Blackboard. “This pledge is part of that commitment and our continued efforts to work collaboratively with the e-Learning community to foster greater openness and interoperability.

(leer más…)

Fuente: [Blackboard]

tags: e-learning, aprendizaje, web2.0, Blackboard, web 2.0, mpatent Blackboard

Caso Pizarra Blackboard: Patent Office Orders Re-Examination of Blackboard Patent

Hace mucho que no que no se producían noticias del Caso Pizarra Blackboard.

NEW YORK, January 25, 2007 — In response to a formal request filed by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today ordered re-examination of the e-learning patent owned by Blackboard Inc.

SFLC, provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software, had filed the request in November on behalf of Sakai, Moodle, and ATutor, three open source educational software projects. The Patent Office found that prior art cited in SFLC’s request raises «a substantial new question of patentability» regarding all 44 claims of Blackboard’s patent.

The patent in question, «Internet-based education support system and methods» (U.S. 6988138), grants Blackboard a monopoly on most educational software that differentiates between the roles of teacher and student until the year 2022. In July, Blackboard filed a lawsuit against Desire2Learn, a competing educational software maker, alleging infringement of its e-learning patent.(leer más…)

Fuente: [groklaw]

tags: e-learning, aprendizaje, web2.0, Blackboard patent, web 2.0

E-learning y derecho: Blackboard patent.

Hace mucho que no hablábamos de la patente de Blackboard (en este enlace podéis ver algunos de mis posts dedicados).

Entre ayer y hoy muchos medios hablan del tema. Claro que aquí esto nos queda muy lejos, en España estamos en otra dimensión. Valga como ejemplo el post titulado «¿Qué es la enseñanza virtual?» de JJ Merelo, que también estuvo en eventoblog y unicienblog : lo que dejó más claro en unicienblog es que los blogs no sirven para la investigación, y lo recuerdo porque lo repitió varias veces en la mesa;-).

Aquí todavía estamos en la primera etapa de casi todo: la que llamaremos la etapa «evangelizadora» (casi 50 años de atraso, son mucho peso), ya sabemos que España ha sido durante larga parte de su historia la gran evangelizadora.

Pero a lo que iba, como muy bien dice Merelo en el post:»En fin, nosotros seguiremos insistiendo. Pero me parece que habrá que empezar por evangelizar, y en eso queda un camino por recorrer.»

Aquí tenéis unos enlaces a distintos medios que reseñan

1) Group challenges e–learning patent
CNET News.com – San Francisco,CA,USA

2) Center Seeks To Overturn e–Learning Patent
InformationWeek – Manhasset,NY,USA

3) Formal Challenge Launched To Blackboard’s E–Learning Patent
Techdirt – USA

4) Open source lawyers take on e–learning patent
IT Week – London,UK

5) Open source lawyers take on e–learning patent
iT News – Australia

tags: e-learning, aprendizaje, web2.0, blog, web 2.0, Blackboard, patent, unicienblog

[not] Drop Patent, Educause Urges Blackboard

The leaders of higher education’s main technology association have written a powerfully worded letter urging Blackboard to relinquish the rights it gained under a controversial patent of online learning technologies in the public domain and to drop a patent infringement lawsuit it filed in August against a Canadian competitor, Desire2Learn.

“We believe this action would be in the best business interests of Blackboard and in the best interests of higher education,” Brian L. Hawkins, the president of Educause, and the group’s Board of Directors said in a letter to Blackboard this month. “We do not make this request lightly or underestimate the courage it will take to implement. However, we believe it is the right action for your corporation and our community.”(leer más…)

Fuente: [insidehighered]

tags: e-learning, aprendizaje, web2.0, Blackboard, web 2.0, Educause

[link] Continuamos para bingo con Blackboard: Keep Your Own Counsel on the Blackboard Controversy

By Michael Feldstein, SUNY Learning Network (NY)

As you may know, Blackboard Inc. was recently granted a patent on aspects of Learning Management Systems and filed an infringement lawsuit against competitor Desire2Learn.
There are a lot of claims and counter-claims flying back and forth about what these developments may or may not mean for higher education and online learning. (Full disclosure: I am opposed to Blackboard’s litigation.) However, all sides agree that universities will benefit from educating themselves about the fundamentals of the issue. To that end, this article provides a series of questions that you can take to your college’s legal counsel in order to better understand how patents on educational software in general and Blackboard’s patent in particular may affect your institution.(leer más…)

Fuente: [campus-technology ]

tags: e-learning, aprendizaje, web2.0, Blackboard, web 2.0, patent