It appears that two can play at the patent infringement game.
In responding to Yahoo's lawsuit accusing Facebook of violating 10 patents, filed in the federal district court in San Jose, Calif., the social networking giant on Tuesday argued that Yahoo has in fact committed some transgressions of its own.
Facebook argued in its filing that Yahoo has violated patents that cover some 80 percent of the Web pioneer's revenue last year, amounting to more than $4 billion. Among the parts of Yahoo's business that are covered, Facebook contends, are display advertising, content personalization and photo sharing.
Tuesday's court filing escalates the fight between the two, more than a month after Yahoo warned that it may sue Facebook over intellectual property claims. Patent fights have taken on increasing prominence in the technology world more generally, but battles between Web companies have generally been far and few between.
The vehemence of Tuesday's filing suggests that a quick settlement may not be in the offing.
"From the outset, we said we would defend ourselves vigorously against Yahoo's lawsuit," Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, said in a statement. "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."
A Yahoo representative was not immediately available for comment.
Facebook's counterclaim also shows the continued friction between two companies that had worked together for some time. Yahoo has integrated the social network's popular news activity feature, into its own sites. The net effect had been to bolster Yahoo's traffic from Facebook users by about 300 percent from September to December alone, Yahoo has said.
Yahoo's original lawsuit was filed at a sensitive time for Facebook, which is seeking to go public as soon as May.
Facebook said in its filing that it is asking the court to find Yahoo's patents invalid and is demanding damages and the payment of its legal fees.
Facebook's Counterclaims to Yahoo's Patent Lawsuit
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