

Blackboard Patent Struck Down - alanthonyc
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090728/0233445678.shtml

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nrr
I'm not really a huge proponent of e-learning since I'm very much a fan of
sitting in a classroom and actually listening to a professor or teaching
assistant give a lecture or lesson, but sometimes, I'm forced to interact with
my university's Blackboard installation. It's mediocre at best and a waste of
time at worst; it really does nothing to help the whole learning process aside
from acting like a clumsy file locker that is best provided by something else
like, maybe, a directory listing.

That said, given that Blackboard has also had control of WebCT for some time
now, they run pretty much a straight-up monopoly in this market, and it's
actually nice to see them get yanked of at least one of their toys even if
they were allowed to cause severe damage to another company in the process.
It's a shame, but this company really needs to get with the program and
understand that this abuse of intellectual property law won't be tolerated.

Nevertheless, yes, why was this patent awarded in the first place? I'm curious
since my tax payment somehow went into making this whole mess happen, and that
fact alone is making me somewhat angry.

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alanthonyc
It's a terrible site. They've also been known to sue other companies that have
tried to improve the online learning experience.

