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February 29, 2012
Ned Beatty Tech Moment: Yahoo v. Facebook. IP Claims in Exchange for Shares?
Read by April Dembosky and Richard Waters in the London-based Financial Times "Yahoo Says Facebook Infringes Its Patents". It begins:
Yahoo is threatening to entangle Facebook in a patent infringement dispute, claiming it holds the right to intellectual property that is central to Facebook’s social networking business.
The claim comes just months ahead of Facebook’s highly anticipated initial public offering, which could give Yahoo a bargaining edge and potentially position it to ask for a stake in the social networking group.
“Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property,” Yahoo said in an emailed statement. “We must insist that Facebook either enter into a licensing agreement or we will be compelled to move forward unilaterally to protect our rights.”
The patents in question, between 10 and 20 altogether, cover social networking, advertising and personalisation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Yahoo to Facebook: "You ain't ever gonna get down to Aintry."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at February 29, 2012 08:00 PM