I don't track patents so this was news to me. Incredible! The stupidness of software patents. I bet BB can't believe their luck.

Do you recall the BT Hyperlink Patent? There was a great quote in the subsequent Wired article that might apply to 'autonomous VLEs' (such as KNotes for example) rather than the monoliths. Patent attorney Vincent Jerham said:

"It's conceivable that a jury could rule in BT's favor, and that BT would impose a fee every time a hyperlink is used from that day forward. But how they would go about monitoring such usage, and enforcing payments, is beyond my imaginative abilities."

Hey, how about 'autonomous learning environments' (ALEs) - it's about time we had a new piece of jargon. I fancy an ALE.