In a fresh attempt by Yahoo to compete its largest rival, the company is threatening to take legal steps against Facebook for patent infringement. Yahoo is currently trying to force the social networking giant Facebook into licensing as many as 20 patents related to messaging, social networking, personalization of websites and advertising. Though there has been no official statement by the sources authorized to make statements regarding licensing of patents, a spokesman for Yahoo has said that Facebook is currently infringing as many as 20 patents which are held by Yahoo and if the company is not willing to pay licensing fees, it is liable to a lawsuit in the future.
The two companies spoke on Monday following which a spokesman for Yahoo released an email statement saying that the company is currently responsible for the interests of its employees and shareholders and as a result must strive to protect its intellectual property. He also added saying that Facebook either needs to comply with the licensing offer or face legal action. A spokesman for Facebook said that the company has not had time to evaluate the claims made by Yahoo yet as Yahoo approached The New York Times at the same time they approached Facebook with the patent claims.
Though patent fights are not uncommon in the Silicon Valley, especially amongst smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and Apple, it is the first time such issues have cropped up in the social network industry.
Yahoo claims that some of the patents in question include the first ever that were awarded to the company. Overture Services was acquired by Yahoo in 2003 which gave the company access to a chest of intellectual property which enabled them to sue companies like Google and other search advertising companies over patent issues. Yahoo also added in a statement that the company managed to acquire some of the patents in question from unspecified Web technology companies in the recent past.
Though it is not clear as to how the discussions between Facebook and Yahoo would go over the likely infringement of the latter’s intellectual property, the timing of these claims has come at a very critical time for Facebook which is gearing up to go public later this year.
