Responding to a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by Blackboard Inc., the e-learning software company Desire2Learn Inc. said last week that the patent at issue was invalid because similar technology existed before Blackboard sought the patent.
Desire2Learn said in its legal response, filed on Thursday, that Blackboard officials knew of the previous technology, called “prior art” in the world of patent law, and subsequently failed to disclose that information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Such allegations open the door to a possible countersuit.
“We don’t believe the patent is valid,” said John Baker, president and chief executive officer of Desire2Learn. “We don’t believe that we’re infringing on any of the claims either.”
Blackboard was awarded a patent covering its e-learning software in January, after filing for the patent in 1999. It sued Desire2Learn in July. See full coverage in The Chronicle.
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