Facebook Faces Patent Lawsuit Over 'Like' Button

Facebook Faces Patent Lawsuit Over 'Like' Button

Will Facebook “Like” this Patent Lawsuit?

The “like” button is one of Facebook’s most popular features, and members use it for everything from showing support for businesses to affirming a friend’s status. However, the site’s feature has landed Facebook in hot water with patent-holding company Rembrandt Social Media.

Rembrandt – which is acting on behalf of deceased Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer – brought a lawsuit against Facebook, alleging that it violated business law by using van der Meer’s technology without permission, according to BBC News. The company noted that Facebook’s success was due in large part to these technologies. Van der Meer was granted the patents in 1998, several years before Facebook was created, Rembrandt argued.

Facebook has not commented on the claims.

This is not the first time the social networking website has been involved in patent and copyright lawsuits. Following Facebook’s rise to fame, founder, chairman and chief executive of the site Mark Zuckerberg was sued by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who claimed that their idea for ConnectU was stolen by Zuckerberg. The three attended Harvard University at the same time, and the twins hired Zuckerberg to help them program their social media site. The lawsuit was settled for $65 million.