Facebook counter sues Yahoo in on-going patent war
Judging that the best form of defence is attack Facebook has responded to recent litigation moves from Yahoo by firing back with a claim of its own.
Yahoo had gone to court seeking damages for alleged patent infringements but Facebook has now turned the tables citing instances of what it perceives as Yahoo violating its patents.
These include display advertising, content personalisation and photo sharing, and amount to some 80% of Facebook’s business or $4bn.
Ted Ullyot, Facebook’s general counsel, explained the move in a statement: “From the outset, we said we would defend ourselves vigorously against Yahoo’s lawsuit. While we are asserting patent claims of our own, we do so in response to Yahoo’s short-sighted decision to attack one of its partners and prioritize litigation over innovation.”
Responding to the latest twist in the case yahoo asserted that they considered the claim to be “without merit” and “nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the weakness of its defence.”