Written on 13 March 2012 by Facebook is no stranger to lawsuits, after all it is considered the most powerful social media platform. In a bold move, Yahoo! – now under the direction of a new CEO – has filed a 19 page lawsuit claiming that Facebook is violating not one, but 10 patents, effectively abusing the intellectual property of Yahoo!. This is not Yahoo!’s first lawsuit over patent infringement – the company successfully battled Google right before Google went public with their IPO. With Facebook’s IPO coming up in a matter of months, will the social media giant settle, or will they proceed with the aggressiveness they are known for?
The patents that Facebook is allegedly infringing upon include the social networking technology that Yahoo! has patented. Others that Yahoo! is claiming were violated include messaging, customization, privacy and advertising. In short, Yahoo! is claiming that Facebook is based on the success of Yahoo! and has been riding on its coattails for quite some time now. While Yahoo! is known for its research and development, there is no mistaking the fact that they have never used the patents in an offensive manner – they simply defend the technology by initiating lawsuits when it appears it will serve the company wonders – such as in times when other competitors will be willing to negotiate to save the company money. With Facebook’s IPO coming up, Yahoo! really stands to put a dent in the IPO offering and damage Facebook’s valuation.
You have to wonder, though, how will Facebook fight back? Undoubtedly, they are in great position to fight the lawsuit and can use the fact that Yahoo! has benefited from the social media platform. It has also been mentioned that Yahoo! might just be choosing this time frame to get Facebook to settle for millions of shares on top of damages – the same way it did with Google back in 2004. Is this a good strategy? Only time will tell.
[via]
Leave a Reply
You will also like these posts
Facebook : a Nice Look for News Feed
Facebook just unveiled the new appearance of its News Feed during a live session in Menlo Park, California. "Today we're announcing a new version of Facebook designed to reduce clutter a...- Facebook IPO at $28-$35 Per Share
Facebook is now set to go public, as it plans to push forward an initial public offering at an anticipated price of $28 to $35 per share. Investors have been expecting this Facebook offering for... - Yahoo to Team Up with Google on Ads
Yahoo and Google have always been considered as the fiercest rivals for search, but where ads are concerned an agreement has already been worked out, as revealed in a recent blog post update by Yah... - Facebook’s Number of Unique Visitors Fell Down in May
Leading research firm comScore has recently disclosed data as to the number of U.S. unique visitors secured by Facebook for the past month. The report showed a dwindling number, as Facebook unique ... - Associated Content acquired by Yahoo for U.S. $ 100 million
Yahoo has sealed a deal to buy Associated Content for $100 million. Associated content is a huge web platform for text, image and video media, regrouping some 400 000 online low-cost freelan... - Facebook Timeline is a Fail [infographic]
Facebook new profile presentation known as Timeline is a big Fail according to a survey made by Sodahead (1327 votes). 70% of users don't like the design, and 20% like it. These are pretty ba... - Facebook Timeline Mandatory for all users this Fall
We expected Facebook Timeline would have been mandatory for every user this spring. It will be this Fall. Hate it or not, you will have it starting in September or October. According to T... - Zuckerberg Marries Long-Time Girlfriend After Facebook IPO
Mark Zuckerberg surprised the world – and less than 100 of his friends – on Saturday when he married long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan at his Palo Alto, California residence. The guests, includi... - Google Plus : 3.3 minutes per month on site, Facebook: 7.5 hours
Google has some very impressive numbers when it comes to their online social media outlet: Google+. The Chief Executive of Google, Larry Page, is boasting that Google+ has seen a staggering 90 mill... - Facebook Timeline for Pages launched [will be mandatory March 30, 2012]
We all remember the revamp of Facebook that led to the implementation of the timeline for Facebook users. Now, the social media giant has revamped its site again, this time aiming to make the entir...
