Is Your CMS at Risk?
Browsing the news on my RSS newsreader last week, I came across a link on LWN.net
referencing the following description:
"A web site creation and maintenance system permits distributed control
and centralized management of a web site. The physical implementation of the
web site resides on a database maintained by a database administrator. The web
site system permits a site administrator to construct the overall structure,
design and style of the web site. This allows for a comprehensive design as
well as a common look and feel for the web site. The web site system permits
content for the web site to originate from multiple content contributors. The
publication of content is controlled by content owners. This permits assignment
of content control to those persons familiar with the content."
D'es any of the above description sound like any of the eLearning technology
in use on your campus? Chances are if you are using a CMS (content management),
a blog or related technology, you may use technology that falls within the above
rubric. In these types of environments there is a centrally-created structure
that includes look and feel as well as navigation. To that structure, contributors
including faculty and students add and control their content without the intervention
of a third party. Added content is stored, frequently in a database, for access
by other users of the system.
So what d'es the above description have to do with eLearning? The statement
is extracted from the abstract of an awarded patent titled "Self service system
for web site publishing." Patent
6,745,238 was awarded on June 1, 2004 to Oracle based on their application
of March 31, 2000.
Common sense would indicate that there were technologies that predated the
March 2000 application. Common sense would also question whether this is such
a common structure that it could not be so unique as to be patentable. However,
I am not a patent attorney, and I haven’t the time to full explore the
application and the granting of the patent. I do believe that a broad interpretation
of the above statement would subsume most of the CMS environments I regularly
track.
There is mounting concern that the patent process is hindering the advancement
of technology. The proponents of this position argue that patents are being
granted for obvious, commonly implemented technology. When the threat of a patent
suit hangs over one’s head, it is difficult to evolve solutions based
on prior technologies.
On the other side, patent proponents are arguing that the intellectual heavy
lifting must be protected. The granting of a patent is recognition of the uniqueness
of the applicant’s work. If creativity is not protected, then the incentive
to invent is diminished greatly.
Irrespective of your personal intellectual position on patents, what happens
when you are directly impacted? If your CMS vendor is unable to defend its solution
in a patent fight, there will be repercussions for you, ranging from minor to
severe.
My experience in specification efforts finds me dedicated to the idea that
eLearning is advanced by open common approaches that act as building blocks
for vendor-developed solutions. I am uncomfortable when I learn of patents that
have the potential to control and potentially hinder the advancements in eLearning.
Are you concerned about this and similar patents, or are you comfortable with
the patent process and the development of eLearning technology? Do you think
this patent will have an impact on your eLearning environment? We would love
to see your comments in our Viewpoint forum.
The editors of this newsletter welcome comment from Oracle.
About the Author
Frank Tansey is a technology consultant and co-editor of the SmartClassroom eLetter (formerly Technology-Enabled Teaching).