Blackboard patents LMS! (from the Kineo news Digest)

Extracted from a recent Kineo news digest :

Blackboard has created a controversy over the patent it has recentlybeen awarded on course management systems. Its first action has been tosue another e-learning company for infringing the patent.

The full details of the patent can be found here.The patent is summarised as "A system and methods for implementingeducation online by providing institutions with the means for allowingthe creation of courses to be taken by students online, the coursesincluding assignments, announcements, course materials, chat andwhiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to thestudents over a network such as the Internet."

"Morespecifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods inwhich an educational instructor interacts with one or morenon-collocated students by transmitting course lectures, textbooks,literature, and other course materials, receiving student questions andinput, and conducting participatory class discussions using anelectronic network such as the Internet and World Wide Web. The presentinvention also relates to the provision of an infrastructure thatallows for on-line registration and tuition payment of educationalcourses. "

Thus Blackboard is fairly much claiming to haveinvented the LMS and any form of online collaborative learningenvironment.  This claim has been ridiculed by the e-learningcommunity, see Stephen Downs blog for detailed comments. Most of us in the industry know that Blackboard did not invent the LMS.

Of immediate concern is the legal action taken by Blackboard against another e-learning company.

However,the patent doesn't apply in the UK. The British EducationalCommunications and Technology Agency (BECTA) has announced that "hereis currently no restriction on the supply of products within the UnitedKingdom which fall within the scope of the US patent."

Thepatent fight may now widen as it has come to light that SAP have alsofiled for a series of learning management patents, including a 'courseeditor', 'e-learning authoring tool' and 'e-learning system'. Theapplications were filed mostly in 2004 and 2005.

technorati tags:Blackboard, patent