[...] Alfred Essa asked this question on my post, Blackboard Sues D2L over LMS Patent: I am not sure where Jarche gets the notion that Elgg Learning Landscape is “not affected by the current Blackboard LMS patent suit.â€ As I noted in a recent posting, “Blackboard’s “inventionâ€ describes a generic learning system and a corresponding set of methods. The “44 claimsâ€ cover any system which supports students interacting with instructors in an online course setting. Interaction simply means the manipulation (read, write) and exchange (asynchronous, synchronous) of data files. It’s that simple. It’s also frighteningly comprehensive because it can be interpreted to cover not only learning management systems but standalone tools such as blogs, wikis and online chat when used in the context of a course. The patent could also be interpreted by the courts to cover any other elements (e.g. e-commerce engine, card systems, ERP connectors) that integrate with the basic system.â€ …