Facebook launches patent counterattack against Yahoo

Facebook Vs Yahoo

(Reuters) - Facebook fired back on Tuesday in its legal battle with Yahoo by accusing the Web pioneer of infringing 10 of Facebook's patents, according to a court filing.

The counterclaim from Facebook, filed in a San Francisco federal court, comes after Yahoo a sued Facebook for patent infringement last month.

The dueling claims mark an expanding web of patent litigation that has already caught up the smartphone and tablet sectors and high-tech stalwarts such as Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.

Yahoo's lawsuit against Facebook came at a delicate time, as the world's largest Internet social networking service is preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $100 billion.

Observers have said that companies are usually more vulnerable to patent suits when they are in the IPO process, as investors scrutinize the risks involved in the business.

But Facebook's counterclaim comes as Yahoo addresses its own challenges: the Web pioneer has seen declining revenue, and newly installed Chief Executive Scott Thompson is facing a contentious proxy fight with activist hedge fund Third Point.

Yahoo spokesman Eric Berman said Facebook's counterclaim is "nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the weakness of its defense."

Five of the patents asserted by Facebook target features related to Yahoo's online advertising business, which Facebook pegged at 80 percent of Yahoo's 2011 revenue, according to the counterclaim.

Yahoo's Flickr photo sharing service infringed various Facebook patents involving the ability to connect with other users on the online service, to identify people in a photo and to generate personalized news feeds, according to the filing.

At least one of the patents asserted by Facebook -- a method for tagging digital media -- lists its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, as one of the inventors, according to a U.S. government database.

Facebook General Counsel Ted Ullyot said the company had indicated that it would defend itself vigorously in the face of Yahoo's lawsuit.

"While we are asserting patent claims of our own, we do so in response to Yahoo's short-sighted decision to attack one of its partners and prioritize litigation over innovation," Ullyot said in a statement.

Yahoo has claimed Facebook infringed 10 of Yahoo's patents, including several that cover online advertising technology. In its lawsuit, Yahoo said Facebook was considered "one of the worst performing sites for advertising" prior to adapting Yahoo's ideas.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Yahoo Inc. v. Facebook Inc., 12-cv-1212.

Yahoo shares fell 2.4 percent to $15.09 in afternoon trading on Tuesday.

News by Reuters

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Samsung confident of outselling Nokia in 2012

Samsung Store

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co is confident it will become the world's largest cellphone maker in 2012, ending Nokia's 14-year reign on the mobile handset market, its chief executive said.

Samsung, which became the world's No 1 smartphone maker in the third quarter of 2011, is quickly building on its supremacy with sleek designs and a rich product lineup, while the latest models from the likes of HTC, Nokia and Research In Motion struggle to interest consumers.

Samsung chief executive Choi Gee-sung told reporters in Las Vegas on Monday the company overtook Nokia in revenue terms in its latest reported quarter and was confident of topping the Finnish group in shipments this year.

That would mean another defeat for Nokia, which lost its decade-long dominance in smartphones to Apple in the second quarter of 2011.

Finland's Nokia rose to the top of cellphone industry in 1998 when it overtook Motorola in phone sales, and has since been the driver for the Nordic economy.

Samsung's bullish forecast is in line with some analysts, including Royal Bank of Scotland, betting Samsung would build on its momentum to overtake Nokia in 2012, but on average analysts have expected Nokia to keep its lead on the market.

According to the latest polls by Reuters, Nokia was expected to sell 418 million phones in 2011, versus Samsung's 320 million, the gap narrowing this year to 388 million versus 359 million.

The South Korean firm -- the world's biggest technology company by revenue -- said in early December its 2011 handset sales reached 300 million handsets for the first time, mainly led by a near four-fold jump in smartphone sales.

"Considering how strong Nokia still is in the emerging markets, Samsung's expectation seems to imply that Nokia will miserably fail in mature markets," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Analysts expect cellphone market growth to slow in 2012, with weak demand seen in Western Europe, but stronger demand for emerging markets, which have historically been Nokia's stronghold.

"I think it will be hard for Samsung to beat Nokia without more aggressively targeting emerging markets," Milanesi said.

Choi also said Samsung was likely to meet its 2015 sales target ahead of schedule and plans to increase investment this year.

"With the current sales growth rate, we are likely to... achieve the 2015 sales target of $200 billion earlier," Choi told reporters.

Samsung last week reported a 6.5 percent rise in 2011 revenue to 164.7 trillion won ($141.54 billion).

($1 = 1163.6500 Korean won)

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Motorola wins German patent case ruling vs Apple

iPad2

(Reuters) - Motorola Mobility won a preliminary injunction against Apple Inc in Germany, which could bar the sales of iPhones and iPads in the country.

A regional German court in Mannheim ruled on Friday that Apple Sales International -- European sales subsidiary of Apple in Cork, Ireland -- must stop selling or distributing mobile devices that infringe certain Motorola patents.

The ruling, which relates to cellular communications patents, could bar the sales of all Apple products that use the patents such as iPhone 4 and iPad 3G, Germany-based patent expert Florian Mueller said.

"The ruling targets Apple's European sales organization but relates only to that entity's sale to German customers," Mueller added.

Motorola Mobility said it has been negotiating with Apple and offering the company "reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007."

Motorola Mobility "will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable," it said in a statement.

To enforce the injunction, Motorola Mobility has to pay about 100 million euros ($133.8 million) as bond.

Apple, which has other patent infringement cases pending in Germany, said it plans to appeal.

"We are going to appeal the court ruling right away," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. "Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad and iPhone they want."

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