Facebook buys 750 patents to build legal arsenal The world's largest social network is bolstering its legal defences as it comes under attack from Yahoo!, which filed a wide-ranging patent infringement claim against it this month. Yahoo! claims Facebook is infringing its patents on online advertising, privacy controls, news feeds and messaging services. The IBM deal could help assuage concerns that the company lacks the intellectual property it needs, said Erin-Michael Gill of MDB Capital Group. "This is a very big deal," he said. Facebook is now where it's supposed to be. In documents filed with regulators last month in preparation for its forthcoming stock market floatation, Facebook admitted that it is likely to face more legal attacks. "We expect the number of patent and other intellectual property claims against us to grow," it said. We may introduce new products, including in areas where we currently do not compete, which could increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims. IBM has long emphasised its intellectual property portfolio, and last year alone was granted more than 6,000 new patents. As well as Facebook, it recently sold patents to Google, which is also under legal attack, particularly around its Android mobile operating system.