E-learn Weblog of Willem van Valkenburg

Gisteren heeft de jury uitspraak gedaan in het proces dat Blackboard had aangespannen tegen Desire2Learn. De uitspraak van de jury is duidelijk:

A Texas jury has ruled that Kitchener software company Desire2Learn Inc. infringed on an American competitor's patent.
 
The verdict, announced this afternoon, allows Blackboard Inc. to demand a ban on sales of Desire2Learn’s products in the United States.
 
The jury in Lufkin, Texas, awarded Blackboard damages of $3.1 million US for royalties and lost profits, according to Judge Ron Clark’s assistant.
 
The case has generated strong interest from the university community. Some information-technology professors fear Blackboard will use its patent, granted in 2006, to dominate its industry.
 
Blackboard is already by far the largest company offering classroom management software, which teachers use to communicate with students

Tot mijn verbazing heeft Blackboard gewonnen. Desire2Learn blijft het aanvechten zoals te lezen is in een e-mail naar hun klanten.