How to Think About the Blackboard Patent. Part III. What did Blackboard Invent?

In Part I I discussed the difference between a copyright and a patent as a way of countering Blackboard's argument that its intent is merely to prevent copying of software code.  In Part II I argued that the scope of Blackboard's patent reaches significantly beyond LMS/VLE functionality and encompasses infrastructure and integration elements. In Part III I will now describe Blackboard's purported invention in Plain English. This will be important to understand if we are to recognize which examples might constitute prior art.

Patents are granted for inventions. So, what did Blackboard invent anyway? Is there a there there? Blackboard's patent is titled "Internet-based education and suppport system and methods." Recall, that purported inventions have to be both novel and non-obvious in order to earn a patent.

Here is a statement of the Blackboard patent claim in Plain English (i have ripped, mixed, and burned Michael Feldstein's formulation somewhat and added two diagrams).

Is this an invention? You be the judge.

A Description of the Blackboard Patent in Plain English

• There are users, courses, and data files.
• A user's access to a particular data file is based on his role and membership in a course.
• Data files are stored on a server and are fetched over the network by a user on his or her personal computer

Lest you thought there was no detail:

• A data file can consist of an announcement file, course information file, staff information file, an assignment file, or a dropbox
• A data file can be transmitted synchronously or asynchronously







• Users can not only read but also write to data files depending on their role in the course!
• An instructor (one of the user roles) can develop an examination from a pool of available questions
• An instructor can assign a grade to some data files and the student can read the grade
  

It gets better:

• A user is required to login before being able to access a course data file
• A user may be presented with web pages comprised of hyperlinks
• The hyperlink when selected may present a course data file
• In some cases the hyperlink may invoke a communication tool

What we have described thus far is the "system" and what it does. Now comes a description of the set of "methods" invented by Blackboard. I am certain you will be impressed by the virtuosity. The invention's methods:

• determine which user of the system has which role
• transfer course files to the "server computer" for storage
• allow access to the course files depending on user role

Now it gets tricky, because we have to be able to:

• determine that at least one of the data files is the course assignment file
• allow the student to transfer their files to the "server computer"
• allow the instructor to post a grade so that only the student associated with the grade can see it
• allow the instructor to perform "a statistical analysis" on the grades assigned to the entire class
• allow the instructor to make available the "statistical analysis" to her students
• allow the instructor to make available an asynchronous or synchronous tool

That's all folks. That's what Blackboard invented! Once we cut through the pseudo-technical mumbo jumbo it's apparent that there is no there there. If Blackboard gets away with this it will be one of the great hoaxes of this century.