Facebook has hit back against potential patent infringements by signing a deal with IBM to buy up to 750 new patents – covering software and networking technologies – after Yahoo launched legal action last week.
IBM is one of the biggest patent holders in the US; last year – and the 19th year running – 2011 it secured the most patents among technology companies.
But it has also been selling them, with Google acquiring over 1,000 patents from IBM in 2011 alone.
Relative newcomers to the technology industry, Google and Facebook lag behind more established companies like IBM, Microsoft and even Yahoo in terms of a patent portfolio.
With its IPO looming Facebook is an easy target for patent infringement suits. Just last week Yahoo accused Facebook of infringing ten of its patents, in a lawsuit filed in California.
Yahoo may have hoped that Facebook would settle quickly, experts claim, in order to remove an uncertainty that could negatively impact its public offering. However it is not known whether the IBM deal will help the company in any settlement negotiations.
Facebook has confirmed the purchase, although it is refusing to disclose how much it paid for the patents or the patent numbers.
