IBM is suing Priceline over a set of patents that the century-old technology firm says have been vital to the relative newcomer's success.

A lawsuit filed by New York state-based IBM on Monday in US federal district court accuses the travel and reservations company of building its business model on long-time patented IBM technology.

IBM said in the legal filing that it turned to the court after three years of fruitless efforts to negotiate licensing fees with Priceline Group, which operates priceline.com, opentable.com and kayak.com.

The four patents at issue in the case include technology involving advertising, signing onto websites, and tracking what shoppers are selecting, according to the lawsuit.

IBM is asking the court to block Priceline from using the patented technology at its websites and to pay royalties on billions of dollars in revenue.

Priceline did not respond to an AFP request for comment regarding the lawsuit.

At its website, Priceline billed itself as "the world leader in online travel and related services." The Connecticut-based company was founded in 1997.