Yahoo followed through on its earlier threats of lawsuits against popular social media site Facebook as the online search firm filed on Monday patent violations before the San Jose Federal Court in California.

According to The Associated Press (AP), the two internet giants are set to contest 10 patent issues that Yahoo claimed were violated by Facebook on its global operations.

The suit was lodged following earlier announcements by the two companies that discussions were underway on the patent differences, with Yahoo reportedly demanding that Facebook needs to enter into licensing deals with the former.

Refusal to do so, a Yahoo representative said, would lead to court battles - scenarios that lately have become the recourse of tech firms wanting to establish their respective patent ownerships.

Yahoo reportedly asked the court for a jury trial in settling its claims that AP said amount to still undetermined costs though earlier indications point to the likelihood that the once dominant search engine is looking to collect billions on its claims.

The patent claims covered advertising, privacy controls and social networking technologies that Yahoo has asserted ownership, AP wrote.

On its court filings, Yahoo said that its hosts of technology patents have greatly benefitted Facebook's operations, resulting to the social networking site garnering "repeat visitors or substantial advertising revenues."

Yahoo also claimed that Facebook's basic social media functions such as the enhanced users experience and advertising features were all frameworks attributed to Yahoo's technology patents.

It was only appropriate and fair for Facebook to enter into licensing deals with Facebook for it to continue employing Yahoo patents, the company said.

In a statement, Facebook said it was surprised by Yahoo's latest moves and puzzled at the same time by the lawsuit that came from what it called as a business partner.

"We're disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation," Facebook said.

Nonetheless, the social media giant vowed to fight it out with Yahoo though tech watchers said it would not be too surprising if both parties will end up suing for settlements.

Most likely, experts said, Facebook would take in the licensing deals that Yahoo has been demanding prior to the filing of the case.

Market expert have been forecasting that Facebook would become the target of patent claims following its earlier decision to go public, a move that could lead to the company accumulating worth of up to $100 billion, thanks to its IPO that should be finalised third quarter of the year.

Yahoo, on the other hand, is seen to capitalise on its over 1000 patents in order to shore up a bit its flagging fortunes following the executive shake-ups that hit the firm earlier this year.

The company also struggles to regain profitability following years of steady declines that saw the firm unwillingly ceding its once dominant position to Google.