Blackboard Patent Case Appears in BusinessWeek Online, ABC News, USA Today, and Washington Post

Justin Pope, a writer for AP, has published an article on the Blackboard Patent case in BusinessWeek Online, Washington Post, ABC News, and USA Today:

Ecola Point  by stelj.

"The patent, awarded to the Washington, D.C.-based company in January but announced last month, has prompted an angry backlash from the academic computing community, which is fighting back in techie fashion -- through online petitions and in a sprawling Wikipedia entry that helps make its case."

Blackboard continues to repeat its spin that "We're not trying to put anyone out of business. We're not trying to hinder innovation. We're seeking a reasonable royalty." If Blackboard is after reasonable royalties, why did the company file a lawsuit against Desire2Learn as its first course of action? If Blackboard is after reasonable royalties, why is the company asking for treble damages against Desire2Learn for wilfull patent infrigement?

The most laughable quote in the article is Blackboard general counsel Matthew Small's claim that the company supports open source. "He says the company supports open source, and notes a Blackboard product called Building Blocks allows users to create their own systems off Blackboard's basic platform." We have some crummy APIs, therefore, we support open source. Gimme a break, dude.