Beleaguered Internet firm Yahoo! has sued social networking major Facebook, alleging violations of as many as ten patents, including those related to online advertising and personal privacy.
Marking the escalation of patent disputes in the fast growing social media sector, Yahoo!'s salvo comes at a time when Facebook is preparing for a mammoth initial share sale.
Legal fights over alleged patent infringements are common in the technology space as reflected in the instances involving giants such as Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Microsoft.
Asserting that the patents relate to ‘cutting edge innovations,' Yahoo! in the lawsuit has even claimed that Facebook's entire social networking model is based on its technology.
“Facebook's entire social network model, which allows users to create profiles for and connect with, among other things, persons and businesses, is based on Yahoo!'s patented social networking technology,” according to the lawsuit filed with a Federal Court in California on Monday.
Yahoo!'s lawsuit also comes close on the heels of Scott Thompson taking over the reins of the Internet entity.
