SAN FRANCISCO, April 3 (Reuters) - Facebook fired back on
Tuesday in its legal battle with Yahoo by accusing the Web
pioneer of infringing 10 of Facebook's patents, according to a
court filing.
The counterclaim from Facebook, filed in a San Francisco
federal court, comes after Yahoo a sued Facebook for patent
infringement last month.
The dueling claims mark an expanding web of patent
litigation that has already caught up the smartphone and tablet
sectors and high-tech stalwarts such as Apple Inc, Microsoft
Corp and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
Yahoo's lawsuit against Facebook came at a delicate time, as
the world's largest Internet social networking service is
preparing for an initial public offering that could value the
company at up to $100 billion.
Observers have said that companies are usually more
vulnerable to patent suits when they are in the IPO process, as
investors scrutinize the risks involved in the business.
But Facebook's counterclaim comes as Yahoo addresses its own
challenges: the Web pioneer has seen declining revenue, and
newly installed Chief Executive Scott Thompson is facing a
contentious proxy fight with activist hedge fund Third Point.
Yahoo spokesman Eric Berman said Facebook's counterclaim is
"nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the
weakness of its defense."
Five of the patents asserted by Facebook target features
related to Yahoo's online advertising business, which Facebook
pegged at 80 percent of Yahoo's 2011 revenue, according to the
counterclaim.
Yahoo's Flickr photo sharing service infringed various
Facebook patents involving the ability to connect with other
users on the online service, to identify people in a photo and
to generate personalized news feeds, according to the filing.
At least one of the patents asserted by Facebook -- a method
for tagging digital media -- lists its chief executive, Mark
Zuckerberg, as one of the inventors, according to a U.S.
government database.
Facebook General Counsel Ted Ullyot said the company had
indicated that it would defend itself vigorously in the face of
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," Ullyot
said in a statement.
Yahoo has claimed Facebook infringed 10 of Yahoo's patents,
including several that cover online advertising technology. In
its lawsuit, Yahoo said Facebook was considered "one of the
worst performing sites for advertising" prior to adapting
Yahoo's ideas.
The case is Yahoo Inc. v. Facebook Inc., U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California, No. 12-cv-1212.
For Yahoo: Jennifer Kash of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &
Sullivan.
For Facebook: Michael Rhodes of Cooley.
(Reporting by Dan Levine and Alexei Oreskovic)
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