Facebook Patents Dispute With Yahoo Ends With New Partnership

Facebook and Yahoo have resolved their legal dispute, announcing they have entered into definitive agreements to launch a new advertising partnership and to extend and expand existing distribution arrangements.

The announcement brings an end to all patent disputes between the two companies and the agreements include patent-portfolio cross licenses.

Yahoo sued Facebook in March, claiming it had infringed ten of its patents related to privacy, messaging and advertising. Facebook responded with a counter lawsuit, amid fears the case could affect its then-imminent IPO.

Advertising alliance

The two parties will work together to bring consumers and advertisers “premium media experiences” which will be promoted on both Yahoo and Facebook. Yahoo’s large media event coverage will be brought to Facebook users by collaborating on social integrations on the Yahoo site too.

Yahoo’s social bar, which allows Facebook users to share news and information from its site with their friends, now has 90 million users, making it the largest news site to have integrated with the social network’s Open Graph platform.

The two companies will also hold more events over the next few years to “provide unparalleled experiences for consumers and world-class sponsorship opportunities for advertisers.”

“We are excited to develop a deeper partnership with Facebook, and I’m grateful to Sheryl and her team for working hard together with our team to develop this dynamic agreement,” said Ross Levinsohn, interim CEO of Yahoo. “We are looking forward to building on the success we have already seen to provide innovative new products and experiences for both consumers and sponsors.”

“I’m pleased that we were able to resolve this in a positive manner and look forward to partnering closely with Ross and the leadership at Yahoo,” said Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook. “Yahoo’s new leaders are driven by a renewed focus on innovation and providing great products to users. Together, we can provide users with engaging social experiences while creating value for marketers.”

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