Yahoo files lawsuit against Facebook over ten patents

Yahoo Inc. alleges that Facebook has infringed ten of its patents related to social networking, advertising and privacy controls. Given Facebook's IPO, the move by Yahoo has been widely decried as an opportunistic cash grab, much like its lawsuit against Google during its IPO. The timing places extra pressure on Facebook to settle quickly in order to avoid a negative impact on IPO, although it remains to be seen whether this tactic will prove fruitful. Facebook issued a statement expressing, "We're disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation." An example of one of the patents listed in the complaint is the "Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage."