A class-action suit by LMS vendors sounds like a pretty good idea.

My hope is that the patent (which is still under review, independent of this lawsuit) will be revoked. That would be the simplest — and sanest — solution!

But going after Desire 2 Learn? This tells me that this is only just beginning. I’m not going to be crying out how the sky is falling, but this entire industry is in a massive state of flux. The concept of an LMS such as it is clearly could not exist had it not been for the work done by folks in AICC, IMS, IEEE and ADL. That Blackboard won this patent when much of what makes an LMS an actual LMS came from standards groups and open source is going to kill a lot of motivation for any other LMS vendor to stretch themselves now.

I hope a larger LMS has the cajones to go after Blackboard… for something. I don’t know what they can do, but if Blackboard has the audacity to basically take Desire 2 Learn out of existence through litigation, perhaps a group of LMS vendors should consider filing a class-action suit against Blackboard for acting as a monopoly in this market.

Asserting IP against Moodle might be one thing (sympathetic as I’d be to Moodle because I personally like Martin Dougiamas), but going all Cobra Kai and sweeping the leg of your competition to clear the road in the guise of protecting your claim on the patent is ludicrous and best and destructive to this entire industry at worse.

Thanks for getting my blood boiling, Philip.