Sheryl Sandberg

Yahoo exorcised another remnant of Scott Thompson’s reign today, settling the patent litigation that he launched against Facebook during his short tenure as chief executive.

The companies just confirmed the settlement, along with a new advertising partnership and expanded content sharing relationship.

Kara Swisher of AllThingsD.com broke the news earlier today along with the back story, explaining that interim CEO Ross Levinsohn was among the Yahoo executives who had been blindsided by the suit. He quickly took steps to get it resolved, contacting Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, after Thompson left amid a controversy over false information on his resume.

The situation had promised to make things awkward for Microsoft, which owns part of Facebook and partners closely with both companies.

“I’m pleased that we were able to resolve this in a positive manner and look forward to partnering closely with Ross and the leadership at Yahoo!,” said Sanberg in the news release. “Yahoo!’s new leaders are driven by a renewed focus on innovation and providing great products to users. Together, we can provide users with engaging social experiences while creating value for marketers.”

Levinsohn now appears to be the front runner for the permanent CEO job at Yahoo.

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