Yahoo stepped up its new feud with Facebook on Monday, suing the social-networking giant and accusing it of infringing on 10 patents tied to an array of Web technologies.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., Yahoo contended that Facebook had knowingly and improperly violated some of the company’s core intellectual properties. The patents, which were issued from 1999 to 2010, cover advertising, privacy, customization, social networking and messaging.
Last month, Yahoo warned Facebook that it may file suit over the patents.
Patent fights are nothing new in Silicon Valley, with the realm of smartphones having become the most visible backdrop for such battles. Google paid $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility last year largely to get access to the phone maker’s intellectual property.
But the social-networking world has largely been spared such fights, at least until now.
In its complaint, Yahoo seeks to use even the words of Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg against his company. It argues that Mr. Zuckerberg has conceded that Facebook isn’t novel, but rather built on predecessors’ innovations.
Read more : http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/yahoo-sues-facebook-over-patents/
