Facebook accused of breaching advertising patents by Yahoo lawsuit
In a significant move, Yahoo strategically filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook in 2012, just after Facebook announced plans for an initial public offering, which could value the company at around $100 billion. The lawsuit targeted Facebook's use of patented technologies related to methods for optimising advertisements, click validation, privacy settings, and social networking functions.
At the heart of the lawsuit were claims that Facebook infringed on Yahoo's intellectual property by implementing techniques covered in Yahoo’s patents. These techniques improved how ads were targeted and validated for clicks, managed user privacy controls, and enabled social networking features that connect people and their interactions online.
The lawsuit alleged that Facebook's advertising system used methods that optimised ad delivery based on user behaviour and validated which clicks were genuine to enhance advertisement effectiveness and reliability. Facebook's privacy-related features were also accused of infringing on Yahoo's patents. Furthermore, Yahoo cited innovations in Facebook’s social networking functionalities as infringing patented techniques they controlled.
This case highlighted the intersection of patent rights with social media giant innovations, focusing on critical back-end methods and user-facing features that underpin modern digital advertising and social network platforms.
In a separate incident, Harley-Davidson filed a lawsuit against California-based clothing company Affliction for alleged trademark infringement of the Harley bar-and-shield logo. Meanwhile, Facebook was accused of infringing over 10 of Yahoo's patents for Internet advertising methods.
The lawsuit Fraley v. Facebook alleges Facebook for including users' names, pictures, or likenesses in advertisements without their consent. This lawsuit involves major social media platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Whatsapp, and Email. Facebook pages, groups, and messages are accused of infringing Yahoo's social networking and instant messaging patents.
It's worth noting that Yahoo currently possesses over 3,300 patents and published patent applications, while Facebook only has 160. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in San Jose, California.
In another development, Wikipedia announced it would blackout the English language version of itself on 18 January 2012 to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). If SOPA and PIPA become law, they would make it easier for copyright holders to protect their rights online against pirating.
In the realm of pay-per-click advertising, advertisers pay more for ads shown during relevant searches, with top ad placement for personal injury law keywords costing up to $50 per click. This underscores the financial significance of these patent disputes in the digital advertising industry.
The case between Yahoo and Facebook serves as a reminder of the importance of intellectual property rights in the digital age, particularly in the rapidly evolving fields of digital advertising and social networking. The outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for both companies and the industry as a whole.
- The lawsuit between Yahoo and Facebook, which accused Facebook of infringing on ten of Yahoo's patents for Internet advertising methods, is an example of how technology in digital advertising is subject to general-news events like patent disputes.
- The contentious elements in the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Yahoo against Facebook include Yahoo's intellectual property related to advertisement optimization, click validation, privacy settings, and social networking functions, all key components in today's technology-driven digital advertising industry.
