Facebook Snags 750 IBM Patents

In a move to further boost up its cache of intellectual property portfolio, social networking giant Facebook has acquired a group of patents Anew Previously owned by International Business Machines Corp. The cache of patents total 750 and covers a broad range of technologies. There's was no information on how much Facebook Provided Offered to IBM in exchange to the patents the which ranged from search technology to semi-conductors

Although there no official word yet from both parties, experts believe That the new patent acquisition by Facebook was in answer to Yahoo's recent patent lawsuit charged on the social networking giant. Yahoo filed a lawsuit against Facebook Earlier this month, saying That the latter has infringed on 10 patents belonging to former, the which Those That included a deal with online advertising.

It is Becoming a common practice nowadays Between tech companies to threaten one another with lawsuits, citing patent Infringement to stifle competition in one way or another. Sometimes, it also Becomes a substantial source of income for companies in terms of licensing agreements in case They succeed in their lawsuit or settle with the other party. In either case, it is always a battle.

Facebook Decided to Bolster its own patent portfolio probably to somehow have a fighting chance with Yahoo in its impending lawsuit. But Facebook may still have a long way to go.

Yahoo has a formidable cache of around 3.300 patents and patent applications compared to Facebook's 56 issued patents and 503 patent applications. By the numbers alone, Facebook may not stand a chance given the circumstances. With its recent acquisition, It Might somehow Bolster its chances of mounting a better defense to the Yahoo lawsuit. So far, both Facebook and IBM have yet to comment and REMAIN mum about Their recent deal.