Yahoo files patent lawsuit against Facebook

(File Image) A woman walks past a Yahoo advertisement in a Beijing subway -AP

The suit was filed in a San Jose, California federal court.

Yahoo sued Facebook on Monday over ten patents that include methods and systems for advertising on the Web, according to a copy of the lawsuit.

Earlier

Yahoo had demanded licensing fees from Facebook for use of its technology.

Yahoo has asserted claims on patents that include the technical mechanisms in the Facebook's ads, privacy controls, news feed and messaging service, according to a source briefed on the matter.

Representatives from the two companies had held talks involved 10 to 20 of Yahoo's patents, said the source, who was not aware of what specific dollar demands Yahoo may have made for licenses.

Yahoo earlier said other companies have already licensed some of the technologies at issue, and that it would act unilaterally if Facebook refused to pay for a patent license.

"Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property," the company said.

The meeting between the two companies was first reported by the New York Times.

A Facebook spokesman had said: "Yahoo contacted us at the same time they called the New York Times and so we haven't had the opportunity to fully evaluate their claims."