Yahoo sues Facebook for infringing 10 patents related to advertising, social networking, messaging, more

The suit concerns 10 patents Yahoo holds related to advertising, privacy, customization, messaging and social networking. Last week Yahoo threatened to take legal action against the social network unless it began paying Yahoo licensing fees. The lawsuit could negatively affect Facebook’s initial public offering expected later this spring.

In light of the suit, Facebook released the following statement:

We’re disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation.