Yahoo has warned Facebook that the social networking giant may be infringing on 16 more of its patents. Yahoo sent a letter to Facebook last month alleging that the patents “may be relevant” to technology Facebook uses in its servers and data centres, Facebook disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday. Facebook has data centres in Oregon and North Carolina. It developed its own servers to power those data centres.

Facebook said Yahoo had not threatened a lawsuit but had said "it may do so in the future." The move could be a precursor to declaring a patent war on companies that use open-source software to power data centres. "Yahoo's letter takes aim not just at Facebook but at open-source and energy-efficient green technologies developed and employed by countless innovative, forward-thinking companies and engineers," Facebook said in an emailed statement. "We're defending vigorously against Yahoo's current lawsuit, and would likewise do so against any new assertions." 

Source: LA Times