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Blackboard's Patent and Online Education

Blackboard's Patent and Online Education

Guide to Online Education > Online Education Trends > Hot Topics in Online Education > Blackboard Patent & Online Education

Simply put, a course management system (CMS) is used by colleges and universities in order to deliver online education.

This software allows instructors to teach online by giving them the tools to make course materials like the syllabus, lecture notes, assignments, tests and quizzes, etc. and tools like asynchronous discussion boards and live chat available online in one, easy-to-manage place. Online learners use the CMS to access course information and materials, submit assignments, check grades, as well as interact with their professor and fellow classmates by posting messages in the discussion forums and chatting in real-time.

In general, course management systems (also called LMS, short for learning management systems) may be classified into the following categories:

1. Commercial: Examples include Blackboard, WebCT, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Angel
2. Open-source: Open-source means the source code of the CMS is freely shared so anyone can use and modify it and does not have licensing restrictions that limit its modification or redistribution. Moodle, Sakai and .LRN are examples of open-source options.
3. "Home-grown": Some institutions chose to use a combination of a commercial and a free, open-source product or chosen to develop their own, "in-house" CMS.

Last year, Blackboard and WebCT held the top two slots in the commercial CMS market for U.S. colleges and universities: 51 percent and 32 percent, respectively (Source: MDR, as cited in eSchool News.) In August 2005, the two companies merged, causing colleges and universities, as well as some elementary and secondary schools and corporations, using WebCT to be concerned about continued support for WebCT products.

Then, in July 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Blackboard a patent for "technology used for internet-based education support systems and methods" and that "patents corresponding with the U.S. patent have been issued in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and are pending in the European Union, China, Japan, Canada, India, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil." (Source: Blackboard.com.)

That same day, Blackboard filed a lawsuit against a Canadian competitor, Desire2Learn, claiming patent infringement, seeking an undisclosed amount of damages and royalty payments.

These recent developments have caused a flurry of concern within higher education, who are generally unfamiliar with aggressive commercial companies. Schools are scrambling to understand the issues at hand, which are often seen in the business world, but rarely in academics. Rightfully so, institutions may face increased costs, which would likely be passed on students in the form of higher tuition and fees, as well as decreased innovation in such a monopolized market.

This move is also widely seen as a threat against the open-source course software community, who wonder if they may be Blackboard's next target of legal action.

An interesting issue that Blackboard's patent and subsequent litigation raises is the problem with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Some have pointed out that the patent office issues patents without full investigation, lacking the personnel to examine each and every patent fully, leaving the courts to decide if a patent is valid or not. So perhaps this suit, which touches so many in education, will cause a change in the way patents are issued.

If Blackboard wins their lawsuit and Desire2Learn loses its countersuit, online students will see significant changes in e-learning and may have to learn new ways to use technology to pursue their online education. If Blackboard withdraws or loses the suit, then the focus of CMS companies can return to making e-learning tools more robust and powerful for students and helping faculty provide a superior education over the Internet.

Related links:

• About Blackboard Patents - Blackboard.com
• English Translation of the Blackboard Patent Claims - NoEduPatents.org
• The NOSE: Information Technology in Higher Education Blog

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