LinkedIn acquired 15 Digg patents in July 2012.
The purchase was part of Digg’s breakup after the social-news site lost much of its audience and influence. The patent portfolio reportedly cost LinkedIn approximately $4 million. One notable patent covered a button-based system for voting stories up or down, a feature closely associated with Digg’s community-driven ranking model.
Digg was sold in three pieces: Betaworks bought the brand, website, and technology for $500,000; The Washington Post’s Code3 project acquired 15 staff members for $12 million; and LinkedIn bought the patents. This division is why the transaction is sometimes mistakenly described as LinkedIn acquiring Digg itself.
The 15 patents represented intellectual property rather than Digg’s users, editorial operation, or remaining product. Betaworks rebuilt the service and launched a redesigned Digg in July 2012, while LinkedIn added the acquired patent portfolio to its own technology assets.