[K12OSN] Blackboard patents LMS?!

[Robert Moskowitz]

Bryant Patten wrote:
> This seems fairly disturbing - particularly as Moodle starts to emerge 
> as one of the killer apps in the FOSS and education space. I can't 
> believe this could have survived a prior art search but it seems to 
> have happened.
Prior art searchs are too close to a joke.

And once the patent is issued it is really hard to get it withdrawn, or 
even its claims reduced, without overwhelming prior art. You have to 
show that the filer ignored a large body of prior art at the time of filing.

Note too that at least for now, prior descovery can trumpt first to 
file. This has already been applied in the biotech and nanotech areas. 
So if you have something patentable that would trump theirs, go for it, 
then make your licensing totally free....
>
> http://www.blackboard.com/company/press/release.aspx?id=887622
>
> http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/02/1217219&from=rss
>
> http://mfeldstein.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/blackboard_patents_the_lms 
>
>
>
> Bryant Patten
> White Nitro, LLC
>
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