Blackboard Inc. won a $3.1 million lawsuit Feb. 22 against rival educational software company Desire2Learn concerning a patent case that began in the summer of 2006.
Blackboard said in a press release on its Web site that its customers, including AU, would not be adversely affected by the lawsuit.
At the conclusion of the trial in Texas, the jury awarded Blackboard $3.1 million of the $17 million it originally sued for.
Blackboard initiated the lawsuit, claiming Desire2Learn was stealing customers. This claim was based on U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138, which addresses "Internet-Based Education Support System and Methods."
When Blackboard initiated the lawsuit, the academic community was extremely concerned because a lack of competition would monopolize the market for Blackboard, stifle competition and eventually lead to a lack of innovation, according to The Washington Post.
Representatives from Blackboard were not available for comment by press time.
Matthew S. Pittinsky, the chairman and co-founder of Blackboard is an AU alumnus and currently serves as a member of AU's board of trustees, according to AU's Web site.
Although Blackboard and Desire2Learn are extremely popular for many higher education communities, Blackboard is not popular among some AU students.
Katherine Barno, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thinks Blackboard is ineffective.
"Blackboard forces students to make up for a professor's poor time management," she said. "Whatever material they can't fit into class time, they post on Blackboard."
Anthony Jones, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he would prefer to have Blackboard available despite its faults.
"Obviously it has problems, but [ultimately] I'd rather have it than not," he said.
There will be a hearing Monday that could lead to an injunction to stop all future sales by Desire2Learn or require Desire2Learn to pay Blackboard royalties, The Post reported.
The lawsuit, while ending in a victory for Blackboard, damaged the academic community's opinion of the company. The academic community and consumers are causing a backlash against Blackboard because they believe the company's claims and the lawsuit are monopolizing and unlawful, according to a Blackboard press release.
Founders of petition Web site boycottblackboard.org are attempting to fight Blackboard's "ill-conceived and illegitimate patent against the education industry," according to the Web site.
Blackboard is not attempting to claim it invented the e-learning concept, Blackboard President and CEO Michael Chasen said in a press release.
"The Blackboard CMS patent covers only specific features and functionality contained in the Blackboard system that were developed by the Blackboard team," Chasen said in the press release. "We certainly did not invent e-learning or course management systems, and I am personally embarrassed that this is what some people thought Blackboard was claiming"
