Yahoo, Facebook seek more time for settlement talks

Yahoo Inc and Facebook Inc believe settlement talks in a high profile patent lawsuit would be helped if a US judge pushed back certain deadlines in the case, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

Yahoo sued Facebook earlier this year, claiming the social networking company infringed 10 of Yahoo's patents, including several that cover online advertising technology. In its lawsuit, Yahoo said Facebook was considered "one of the worst performing sites for advertising" prior to adapting Yahoo's ideas.

Facebook then filed a countersuit of its own and called Yahoo short-sighted for its decision to prioritize "litigation over innovation." Yahoo brought its lawsuit while the company was under the leadership of then-Chief Executive Scott Thompson.

However, shortly after the case began Thompson was ousted from the company amid questions about his resume. In a court filing on Tuesday, Yahoo attorney Kevin Smith asked a San Francisco federal judge to push back a series of deadlines in the case for two weeks. Facebook did not oppose the request, Smith wrote.

The extension would "facilitate settlement," he wrote. Representatives for Yahoo and Facebook declined to comment. US District Judge Jeffrey White approved the delay request on Wednesday. The case in US District Court, Northern District of California is Yahoo Inc. v. Facebook Inc., 12-cv-1212.