Yahoo lodges Facebook lawsuit over alleged patent infringements
Yahoo! has filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that the site has infringed its patents relating to advertising, privacy controls and social networking.
The ailing web giant has identified 10 patents which it claims Facebook must take out a license for if it intends to continue using them.
In a statement Yahoo! said it had invested “substantial resources in research and development” over the years, producing a number over 1,000 patents which have been licensed to other companies. However it noted: “Unfortunately, the matter with Facebook remains unresolved.”
For their part Facebook said: “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.”
The legal spat comes against a backdrop of Facebook’s increasing dominance; it now accounts for 14% of online advertising, whilst Yahoo! has seen its market share fall to 10.8%.