The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a preliminary decision that rejects all 44 claims Blackboard Inc. made regarding the controversial patent it was granted for an online-learning system. If upheld, the decision could have sweeping ramifications for Blackboard’s competitors and universities that use course-management software.
Who really knows how this decision will affect the pending litigation between Blackboard and Desire2Learn, whose Learning Management System was found by a federal jury to have infringed on Blackboard patent rights. What I can say is that competition is good and, as an industry insider, I hope the decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sticks and that the Blackboard verdict against Desire2Learn is overturned.