Facebook反击雅虎专利战的四种选择

    和技术界的许多人一样，我也相信应该废除所有的软件专利。话虽如此，我依然认为Facebook公司对雅虎公司（Yahoo）的专利攻击提起诉讼实属正确之举。

    就我所见，Facebook有4个选择：

    1. 和解。鉴于Facebook的首次公开募股（IPO）在即，这当然是最简单的办法。但是，和解意味着必须让雅虎得到些甜头，可能会纵容它变本加厉地发起更多无聊的专利诉讼。

    2. 防守但不反诉。表面上，这么做将体现“坚守原则”的立场。但是，它实际上将严重削弱Facebook的法律地位，也会因此让雅虎更有机会从这桩官司中渔利。

    3. 反诉但不表态排除专利诉讼。

    4. 反诉并表态Facebook反对专利诉讼，这也反过来表示，如果雅虎放弃诉讼，Facebook也会投桃报李。Facebook采取的似乎正是这个举措：

    Facebook的法律总顾问泰德•尤罗特在其发表的声明中称：“从一开始，我们就声明，针对雅虎的诉讼，我们会全力应诉。当前我们坚持自己的专利权利主张，但我们这么做完全是回应雅虎所作所为的无奈之举。雅虎这种攻击合作伙伴、将诉讼置于创新之上的做法是非常缺乏远见的决策。”（粗体为笔者所加）

    反诉能让Facebook获得化解雅虎诉讼的最佳机会——也能因此而挫败通过专利诉讼获利的企图。同时，挑明反诉只是应对雅虎的无奈之举（因此，如果雅虎就此放弃诉讼，它也可能采取类似的举动），又让其始终站在了创新者一边。

    译者：清远

    Like many in tech, I believe all software patents should be abolished. That said, I think Facebook made the right move by filing a lawsuit against Yahoo's patent attack.As I see it, Facebook had 4 choices:

    1. Settle. Given its pending IPO, this would have been the easiest route. But, by rewarding Yahoo (YHOO), settling would have encouraged more frivolous patent lawsuits.

    2. Defend without countersuing. On the surface this would have been the "principled" stance, but it would have severely weakened Facebook's legal position, and therefore would have made it more likely that Yahoo profited from the lawsuit.

    3. Countersue without signaling any aversion to patent lawsuits.

    4. Countersue and signal that Facebook is averse to patent lawsuits, which in turn signals that they will drop the lawsuit if Yahoo does. This seems to be what Facebook has done:

    "From the outset, we said we would defend ourselves vigorously against Yahoo's lawsuit," Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, said in a statement. "While we are asserting patent claims of our own, we do so in response to Yahoo's short-sighted decision to attack one of its partners and prioritize litigation over innovation." [emphasis added]

    Countersuing gives Facebook the best chance of fending off Yahoo's lawsuit – and therefore not rewarding patent lawsuits. And signaling it are only doing so in response to Yahoo (hence might drop the suit if Yahoo does) keeps it on the right side of innovation.

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