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Yahoo, Facebook in settlement talks over patent infringement

The two companies are finally in negotiations to settle their dispute over patents.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam

Court documents reveal that Yahoo and Facebook are in settlement negotiations over their patent infringement dispute, Bloomberg reported today.

Yahoo's lawyers have asked a U.S District judge for a two-week extension on deadlines to file replies in the lawsuit while the companies talk about a settlement. The lawyers also asked for a two-week delay in a motion hearing now set for Aug. 10.

Representatives for both Yahoo and Facebook declined to comment on the case or the negotiations.

A big question is whether settlement terms would include cross-licensing of patents between the one-time partners and deeper integration of their respective tools, as rumors have speculated.

The dispute began in March when Yahoo filed a a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook that accused the social-networking giant of misappropriating various Internet technologies like placing ads on Web pages and customizing views for social users. Facebook countersued, calming that Yahoo struggling infringes on 10 of the social network's patents.

Update, 12:29 p.m. PT: Updated with Facebook and Yahoo's response.