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Blackboard Patent Coverage
Patent Office Grants D2L Reexam Request
2/26/2007
The case continues and is expected to reach a stage called a Markman hearing at some point in July. It's during this stage that the court will issue interpretations of the meaning of specific language used in the patent claims.
Open source off the hook?
In the meantime, earlier this month, Blackboard issued a statement that it hoped would ameliorate tensions with the education and open-source development communities. The statement, which has come to be known as the "Blackboard patent pledge," grants the unrestricted use of Blackboard's patented technologies to open-source developers and allows the roundabout use of these technologies by commercial developers as well.
The pledge is a formal, legally binding document that states Blackboard will not enforce its patent against open-source developers, naming all of the developers who work in the CMS space, or against those who support those products, either commercially or otherwise. That includes those who host, customize, maintain or otherwise support those open-source products. The pledge also covers those who develop "home-grown" CMS systems for schools, colleges and universities.
It also, in some cases, protects commercial developers by allowing them to offer open-source components covered by Blackboard's patents, as long as those components are not bundled with the core product.
We have more extensive coverage, clarifications, and quotes on the pledge and the patent in general in the articles linked below. We will, of course, continue to update you on any new developments that arise.
More info:
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