Yahoo filed lawsuit against Facebook

Yahoo sues Facebook over patents. It has filed, in San Jose in California federal court, an intellectual property lawsuit against social network. It claims Facebook has infringed 10 of its patents, methods for advertising on the web and systems is included. Facebook denies the allegation.

A statement from Yahoo suggested the web portal believed it has a strong case.
“Yahoo’s patents relate to cutting edge innovations in online products, including in messaging, news feed generation, social commenting, advertising display, preventing click fraud and privacy controls,” its suit said.
“Facebook’s entire social network model, which allows users to create profiles and connect with, among other things, persons and businesses, is based on Yahoo’s patented social networking technology.”
The social network described Yahoo’s action as “puzzling”. Facebook believed that Yahoo had not tried hard to settle the matter without involving the courts.
“We’re disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation,” it added.
Facebook spokesman Jonathan Thaw said Facebook learned of the lawsuit through the media.
“We’re disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation,” he said.
Yahoo said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the matter with Facebook remains unresolved and we are compelled to seek redress in federal court.”
Facebook, which recently announced plans for a share offering that could value the company at $100bn, said: “We are disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation.”

Yahoo one of the Web’s pioneering companies but its revenues have declined when Facebook and Google have grown well.

Yahoo protected its lawsuit, saying it has invested “substantial resources in research and development” over the years leading to technology patents that other companies have licensed. Its lawsuit says that without Yahoo’s innovations, Facebook and other websites would not enjoy “repeat visitors or substantial advertising revenue.”