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Yahoo and Facebook close to settling patent standoff, says AllThingsD

Yahoo and Facebook close to settling patent standoff, says AllThingsD

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Yahoo and Facebook are reportedly close to reaching a settlement over patent violations, according to AllThingsD's Kara Swisher.

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The patent infringement confrontation between Yahoo and Facebook could be settled amicably "within the next weeks" according to Kara Swisher at AllThingsD. Swisher reports that executives at both companies have been working for the last several days on a deal that would eliminate the need for a courtroom battle over patents that cover advertising and user interactions. Yahoo originally filed suit against the social networking giant in March after discussions over the technologies in question failed to produce a licensing agreement between the two sides. For its part, Facebook quickly shot back an accusation that Yahoo was in fact violating ten of its own patents.

Swisher claims this potential settlement would call for a massive cross-licensing deal resulting in deeper integration between the two companies. Talks are apparently being held at the highest levels: Yahoo's representation is said to include interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, and Swisher reports that Facebook has dispatched COO Sheryl Sandberg to help find a common ground.

Avoiding a lengthy legal battle would likely be a preferable outcome as Yahoo seeks to right the ship following the embarrassing resignation of former CEO Scott Thompson just weeks ago. It also stands to reason that Mark Zuckerberg's team would like to eliminate a potential concern for investors as his company's stock tumbles on Wall Street. If the report holds true, we should be hearing word of an outcome before long, so stay tuned.