London: Weeks after Yahoo Inc. claimed that Facebook violated 10 patents covering advertising, privacy controls and social networking, the social media giant fired back on Tuesday accusing the Web pioneer of infringing 10 of Facebook’s patents.
The counter claim from Facebook filed in a San Francisco federal court. Facebook denied Yahoo’s allegations and accused Yahoo of violating 10 of its patents covering photo tagging, advertising, online recommendations and more.
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.
Yahoo spokesman Eric Berman said Facebook’s counterclaim is “nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the weakness of its defense.”
Facebook General Counsel Ted Ullyot said the company had indicated that it would defend itself vigorously in the face of Yahoo’s lawsuit.