4-Apr-2012 | 3:25 IST | Edited by: Sharmila Maitra

Facebook has acquired 750 patents from International Business Machines Corp (IBM) as the social networking company attempts to reinforce its intellectual property portfolio in the wake of a lawsuit filed by Yahoo.

The 750 patents from IBM cover a broad range of technology, ranging from search to semiconductors including technologies dealing with software and networking.

Yahoo sued Facebook earlier this month, claiming that Facebook infringed 10 patents, including several that cover online advertising technology.

However, the experts say that a classic defense for any company targeted with patent claims is to threaten a countersuit using their own patents. But as far as Yahoo is concerned, it possesses far more patents than Facebook. Before the IBM transaction, Yahoo had over 3,300 patents and published patent applications, according to a U.S. government database.

Facebook had 56 issued patents and 503 applications as of December 31, the company said in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, 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.

Furthermore, it is unclear how much Facebook paid for the IBM patents, but tech companies seeking to build their portfolios have pushed intellectual property prices higher.

This deal came after Nortel Networks Corp. sold about 6,000 patents to an Apple Inc.-led consortium for $4.5 billion, after Google bowed out of the bidding.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that after Yahoo, Facebook has now been sued by Mitel, a Canadian enterprise software company which alleges infringement of two patents for "automatic web page generator" and another for "pro-active features for telephony". The first one is so broad that it could be used to sue any of the current Internet giants who use dynamically generated web pages.

Mitel Networks is a high-tech company providing unified communications solutions for business. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications but after a change in ownership in 2001 now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products. Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with offices, partners and resellers worldwide.

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.

Nortel Networks Corporation, formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, was a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

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