Facing sharp criticism from academic computing experts, Blackboard announced Thursday what it calls a legally binding promise that it won’t pursue patent lawsuits against users of open source online classroom technology. An open source group said it welcomed the move but noted a key caveat: The pledge doesn’t apply when users such as universities bundle open source and proprietary code to create their own “mix and match” systems. The announcement is the latest development in a case that has been closely followed in the information technology and education communities.

Source: Blackboard Vows Support for Open Source