While open source software (OSS) emphasizes open access to the source code and avoids the use of formal appropriability mechanisms, there has been little understanding of how the existence and exercise of formal intellectual property rights (IPR) such as patents influence the direction of OSS innovation. This dissertation seeks to bridge this gap…

Learning Management Systems, or LMSs, are widely used throughout higher education to deliver a range of instructional services including content delivery, discussion boards and collaborative work space, testing tools, and gradebook functions. LMSs can be used asynchronously or synchronously in support of online learning, classroom-based learning,…

A federal jury in Texas awarded Blackboard Inc. $3.1-million last month, saying that a smaller Canadian competitor, Desire2Learn Inc., had infringed Blackboard's patent for a system of delivering course materials online. The case has been closely watched by campus-technology officials, many of whom feared that a Blackboard win could stifle…

In March the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a preliminary decision that could have significant ramifications for universities that use course-management software, as well as for the companies that make it. The "nonfinal" decision rejects all 44 claims Blackboard Inc. made for its controversial patent of an online-learning system.…

The long-awaited showdown between Blackboard Inc. and Desire2Learn Inc. began this month in a federal courtroom here as lawyers described the humble beginnings of two of the fiercest competitors in the classroom-software industry. The presidents of both companies, flanked by teams of lawyers, listened intently as their lawyers described how young…

This article discusses the impact of patents for computer algorithms in course management systems. Referring to historical documents and court cases, the positive and negative aspects of software patents are presented. The key argument is the accessibility to algorithms comprising a course management software program such as Blackboard. The…

The author discusses the issue of copyright, oldies, and digital preservation. He examines efforts being made to create digital sound repositories for music record prior to 1970 at such places as Yale, Syracuse, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. These issues are explored by contrasting the music industry's concern for loss…

Computer software, which often takes years to produce, is currently being copied and used illegally in school settings. This violation of the law has many repercussions within the academic community. In this discussion, several court cases dealing with this situation are emphasized. It is also noted that the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment…

The first of two articles discusses the extent to which piracy of intellectual property hurts the U.S. economy, the role of developing nations in piracy, and who benefits from the protection of intellectual property. The second explores the implications of a Supreme Court ruling on copyrighting of computer programs created by independent…

Discusses the protection of intellectual property as it applies to computer software and its impact on private enterprise and the public good. Highlights include the role of patents, copyrights, and trade secrets; some court cases; and recommendations for alternatives to the existing legal framework for protecting computer software. (KRN)