Campus Technology reports that eCollege chairman and CEO Oakleigh Thorne has called the Blackboard learming management system patent invalid. “As one of the pioneers of online education, we launched our first customer’s eLearning program in January 1997, before Blackboard even existed. In fact, we had online programs for numerous institutions up and running [for] more than a year before the filing of Blackboard’s patent application.”

The Campus Technology article also includes comments from Michael Feldstein, who runs one of the best sources of news & information on the patent and Blackboard’s lawsuit against Desire2Learn: Feldstein says he is, “surprised there hasn’t been more uproar about this yet…the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has apparently granted Blackboard a patent for…well…pretty much anything remotely related to learning management systems. As I read it, Blackboard basically owns the patent on any sort of groupware at all that is used for teaching purposes. This could have very serious consequences for both proprietary and Open Source competitors – and I define ‘competitors’ as loosely as possible.”

Those of us in the wiki world need to take notice of this. Please blog about it, tell your colleagues, and help generate support for Desire2Learn since the company is acting in all of our best interest by fighting the suit and not settling.