Sunnyvale, California — In a novel twist of events, struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. is threatening legal action against Facebook if the social media giant does not agree to license 10 to 20 patents owned by Yahoo, which include advertising, the personalization of Web sites, social networking and messaging, according to The New York Times.
Yahoo may not be performing so well lately, and the failing Internet giant think it has finally found a solution: attack Facebook. The problem with such an illustrious plan is that Facebook is one of the few companies that is keeping Yahoo alive. Nevertheless, Yahoo claims Facebook is infringing on 10 to 20 of Yahoo’s patents across technologies that include advertising, the personalization of Web sites, social networking, and messaging.
Executives from two companies spoke on Monday to sort-out the issue, with Yahoo contending that Facebook is infringing on 10 to 20 patents, according to these people, who were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. Yahoo is asking Facebook to pay licensing fees or risk facing a lawsuit.
Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. Source: (Tony Avelar/Bloomberg News)
“Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property,” a Yahoo spokesperson told The New York Times. “We must insist that Facebook either enter into a licensing agreement or we will be compelled to move forward unilaterally to protect our rights.”
Barry Schnitt, a spokesman for Facebook, said in a statement: “Yahoo contacted us the same time they called The New York Times and so we have not had the opportunity to fully assess their claims.”
Yahoo, the largest U.S. Internet portal, is exploring various avenues to revive growth after losing share to Facebook in the display advertising market and trailing Google Inc. in Web search. Yahoo said it has made “substantial” investments in innovation and that other companies have already agreed to license those technologies.
Besides, patent fights are nothing new in Silicon Valley, with the realm of smartphones having become the most visible backdrop for such battles. The social media giant Facebook, which has grappled with lawsuits over patents in the past, faces potential threats from other large companies that have patents on social-networking technologies.
Apart from that, Google paid $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility last year largely to get access to the phone maker’s intellectual property. And a consortium of companies led by Apple and Microsoft paid $4.5 billion for more than 6,000 patents held by Nortel, the defunct communications equipment maker. Also, Apple, Samsung and other smartphone makers have also been locked in an array of courtroom brawls around the world over various patents.