The opening gavel sounded this week in a trial that is being closely watched by college and university technology officials — a patent dispute between Blackboard Inc., which has become the giant of the education-software sector, and a smaller Canadian company called Desire2Learn.
Blackboard had filed for the patent, which covers its e-learning software, in 1999. Critics say the patent is too broad and could be construed as covering many aspects of classroom software. If the patent holds up, they say, colleges that create their own course-management systems could be vulnerable to similar lawsuits.
The Chronicle offers coverage of the opening arguments in the case, and the article is free even to non-subscribers. Share your thoughts on the case and its impact.
