Yahoo targeted in patent suit by software developer

Yahoo has been targeted in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by software developer Pepperdata.

Filed on Friday, December 16, at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit claimed that Yahoo has infringed US patent numbers 8,849,891 and 9,325,593.

The patents relate to “systems, methods, and devices for dynamic resource monitoring and allocation in a cluster system”.

Founded in 2012, Pepperdata provides customers with products that improve the performance of Hadoop-based computing clusters. A computer cluster consists of a set of connected computers that work together.

According to the suit, Yahoo uses Hadoop clusters within the US. It made a software patch identified as YARN-5202, titled “dynamic overcommit of node resources”, which it has used on the clusters.

In August this year, Pepperdata gav e Yahoo written notice that it had infringed the patent through the use of the software patch.

“However, upon information and belief, despite being aware of the ‘891 and ‘593 patents at least as early as August 4, 2016, Yahoo has used the YARN-5202 patch on Hadoop clusters in the US and continues to do so,” said the suit.

Pepperdata said that “Yahoo has derived and received, and will continue to derive and receive, gains, profits, and advantages from the aforesaid acts of infringement in an amount that is not presently known to Pepperdata”.

It is seeking injunctive relief, a jury trial, an account of profits, triple damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.