Many college officials have criticized Blackboard Inc. for its patent on its course-management system, arguing that the patent is overly broad and seems to cover the entire concept of online learning. Critics of Blackboard and other companies that have patents on learning technology are welcoming a recent Supreme Court ruling that they hope may invalidate many of those patents as "obvious." No decision has yet been made on the patents in question, but experts say the patent-law landscape has changed. Under the new ruling, what was once patentable may not be anymore. Other patent holders like Test.com and Acacia Research Corporation may also be affected by the ruling, but it may take some time before courts figure out how to interpret it.