February 2007 — News
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Update: Sakai, Blackboard Comment on Patent Pledge
While this pledge offers a formalization of Blackboard's past claims about the intent of its patents, it does not speak to the quality or validity of the patents themselves. Sakai and EDUCAUSE maintain the position that Blackboard’s U.S. patent number 6,988,138 is overly broad, and that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) erred in granting it to Blackboard. Furthermore, we believe that this conclusion will ultimately be decided by the re-examination of this patent through the USPTO and in the current litigation.
We hope that all of the organizations and individuals interested in educational technology will continue to focus our collective energies on improving software, and system and data interoperability with the ultimate goal of delivering truly innovative solutions to all teachers and learners.
Source: EDUCAUSE/Sakai joint statement
We'll bring you more information as it becomes available. (If you would like to contact us with your own reactions, please e-mail the author at dnagel@1105media.com.) For more on the Blackboard patent, please see the links below.
More info:
