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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 02, 2006 Blackboard Sues to Protect Patent Child Online Identity Card Debuts China Closes Liberal Web Site BLACKBOARD SUES TO PROTECT PATENT Blackboard has filed a lawsuit against Desire2Learn for allegedly violating a patent that was granted in January. The patent covers 44 e-learning functions, such as providing users with predefined roles in multiple online courses. Matthew Small, senior vice president and general counsel for Blackboard, said that such features, which are common today, were novel ideas in the 90s when Blackboard applied for the patent. Blackboard officials also noted that the company has no intention of litigating against colleges or universities that might be infringing on the patent or against open source providers such as Moodle and Sakai. Officials from Desire2Learn said they could not comment on the suit because they had not had a chance to review it. Several observers believe the suit is overly broad, saying that the patent office does not have the staff to thoroughly investigate applications. Peter Schilling, director of information technology at Amherst College, said he thinks the patent will be invalidated if challenged. Chronicle of Higher Education, 2 August 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/08/2006080201t.htm CHILD ONLINE IDENTITY CARD DEBUTS An online identity service for children has debuted in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Conceived by U.K. businessman Alex Hewitt, the NetIDMe system requires parents to apply for ID cards for their kids and to supply a credit card as verification. Another person who knows the child must countersign the application. Once an ID is established, users can communicate with others online with the assurance that users who say they are children are not in fact adults who prey on kids. The service, which costs 10 pounds per year, is only effective if both communicating parties participate. Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said that this effort, like any other that works to verify the age and identity of Internet users, will help prevent children from becoming victims of online predators. Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Porter of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency noted that Web users should nonetheless be cautious. "We would advise all parents and young people to...ensure no personally identifiable information is shared with online strangers." BBC, 2 August 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5238992.stm CHINA CLOSES LIBERAL WEB SITE Government officials in China have taken another step in limiting what Internet users in the country can access, causing an uproar among intellectuals and others critical of the Communist Party. During the past week, access inside China to the Century China Web site has been cut off, prompting a petition that accuses the government of trying to control public opinion. More than 100 outspoken individuals--both inside the country and abroad--have signed the petition, which was sent by e-mail to the media. The petition states, in part, "The shutdown of Century China is just another instance of the Chinese government suppressing the freedom of its people." It also describes the Century China Web site as "the one spiritual home we had in the cyberworld." CNET, 2 August 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6101267.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
