So Blackboard is claiming ownership of the 'lms' idea ! Great move - why can't patent office people take a look around them. There is so much prior art on the idea of web-based and computer-based learning, going back decades, that it is impossible to imagine how this filing got through.
The problem for open-source developers is that institutions and corporates may feel exposed in implementing infrastructure that may get them drawn into legal battles in the future. Even if they are not responsible.
Perhaps only the commerical lms vendors can afford to defend patent suits and/or pay up if it goes against them. But it seems ridiculous that educational processes can be patented by one US corporation. Smells a little like the genome patents ?
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