Yahoo and Facebook kiss and make up

Firms go from courtroom aggressors to advertising partners

Yahoo and Facebook have ended their patent dispute and joined together to form an advertising partnership.

Earlier this year Yahoo sued Facebook claiming that 10 of its patents had been infringed. Facebook later bought patents from IBM and Microsoft as it counter-sued.

Facebook recently announced on its site that the firms have "...entered into definitive agreements that launch a new advertising partnership, extend and expand distribution arrangements, and settle all pending patent claims between the companies."

According to Facebook, the organisations will now cross-license patents from one another, and further collaborations could be in the pipeline.

Yahoo, which has struggled in recent years with falling revenues, and axed 2,000 jobs in April, expressed its gratitude to Facebook for the deal.

"We are excited to develop a deeper partnership with Facebook, and I'm grateful to Sheryl [Sandberg, Facebook COO] and her team for working hard together with our team to develop this dynamic agreement.

"We are looking forward to building on the success we have already seen to provide innovative new products and experiences for both consumers and sponsors," said Ross Levinsohn, interim CEO at Yahoo.

For her part, Sandberg expressed encouragement for Yahoo's new leadership team.

"Yahoo's new leaders are driven by a renewed focus on innovation and providing great products to users. Together, we can provide users with engaging social experiences while creating value for marketers."

Yahoo's previous CEO Scott Thompson left the company in May this year following the discovery that he had exaggerrated his educational achievements on his CV.