Facebook and Yahoo bury hatchet
Facebook and Yahoo have reached a settlement: Instead of fighting in court over the use of patents, the two internet giants will work together more closely than ever in the future.
The newly formed alliance extends to vital advertising and content distribution. The patents - the bone of contention - may be used by each other. "I'm pleased that we've resolved this in a positive way, said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's manager in charge of day-to-day operations, on Friday. Users will benefit through great products, she promised. Yahoo interim chief Ross Levinsohn said, "We're excited about the closer partnership with Facebook."
A settlement saves both sides lengthy and expensive wrangling in court. The partnership in the advertising business also increases their clout. Yahoo is suffering from the market power of rival Google, and Facebook has to prove after its IPO that the social network can earn decent money. Together, they are a power on the Internet: Facebook has more than 900 million users, Yahoo around 700 million.
Yahoo had initiated the dispute at the end of February, shortly before Facebook's IPO. In a lawsuit, the Internet pioneer accused its younger rival of ripping off ideas.
Facebook responded with a counterclaim. To strengthen its own position, the social network bought up patents that had originally belonged to AOL for 550 million dollars. (SDA/DPA)
