Liberal Education Today

Following up on last week's Blackboard-Desire2Learn patent ruling:

Blackboard now has the opportunity to ask the court for an injunction against Desire2Learn. Blackboard's counsel has spoken in a way which makes this likely:

Blackboard isn't seeking an injunction against any of Desire2Learn's already-installed products. It is hoping, however, to persuade the court during a hearing scheduled for March 10 to ban the company from future sales of its course-management system in the United States.

Moreover, further financial penalties may be pursued:

If the judge rules against an injunction on that matter, Blackboard will ask that Desire2Learn pay royalties on any new sales, in addition to the $3.1-million awarded for lost profits and back royalties. At the start of the trial, Blackboard was seeking $17-million.

However, some think this is unlikely to happen in the near term. For example, Michael Korcuska of Sakai:

To my knowledge, Blackboard has not yet asked for this injunction and it is unclear whether the court would grant the injunction. D2L could certainly appeal the verdict, which means this particular thread of activity will be going on for some time.

Michael Feldstein has commented on the financial aspects of the decision:

One thing that is clear, however, is that so far nobody has benefited financially from this. The $3.1 million Bb could receive in settlement probably won’t even cover their legal fees. Their stock is at the same level it was when they initiated the lawsuit and down over 40% from its highs.
(emphasis in original)

Desire2Learn's official page describes that company's stance, which now consists of processing the decision and strategizing.

Some worry about possible threats to open source CMSes. For example, from KairosNews:

I wonder if open source LMS software became a serious threat to their market share if they would sue Sakai and Moodle?

Blackboard is reported to have that they will not pursue such an action. Blackboard also maintains a pledge to this effect on their site.

Others worry about monopoly possibilities. Lanny Arvan forsees a decrease in collegiality between campuses and their CMS vendor:

People in my former position [campus CMS person](or their bosses, the CIO) may no longer encourage their staffs to act as a partner with Blackboard in developing future versions. Without the collegiality, this is a natural reaction. And without the market pressure from competing vendors, there is less of a need to innovate to capture new markets.

One very small sample of public reaction to the decision can be found in the comments thread for the Chronicle article. All eleven, as of this writing, are negative. Elsewhere Stephen Downes links to a series of negative responses.

(via Barron Koralesky and Stephen Downes)