A jury in Texas has awarded ZeniMax Media $500 million USD after finding that Oculus VR violated the terms of a non-disclosure agreement. This ruling came as part of a larger ongoing lawsuit that also found Oculus VR not guilt in relation to claims that the company stole information in order to create the Rift headset. Breaking down the damages, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is said to personally be responsible for $50 million for false designation.
In a statement made to
Polygon, who also broke the story, Oculus were quick to point out that in relation to the main aspect of the lawsuit, the stealing of trade secrets, they were found innocent. And that, "Our commitment to the long-term success of VR remains the same, and the entire team will continue the work they've done since day one – developing VR technology that will transform the way people interact and communicate."
The trial, which kicked off in January, has not been without incident. With many allegations brought forward, including one that involves Carmack copying code from id Software computers before leaving to work at Facebook on Oculus VR technology. Both John Carmack and Palmer Luckey were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. The whole case and the relationship between Oculus, Facebook, id Software, and ZeniMax is indeed a complicated one. And as with any high profile case, especially those where companies like Facebook are involved, they plan on appealing the decision.
Posted 08:55pm 02/2/17
Posted 11:47am 03/2/17
But yes, they have said they will be attempting an appeal.
Posted 11:54am 03/2/17
FB post from John Carmack: 1913546895546485&id=100006735798590
0c/john_carmacks_view_of_computer_sciences_expert/ dd90g27/
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=
Does he not have a blog or something he can post this on rather than FB which requires login? Here it is on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/5rnq
Posted 03:05pm 03/2/17
This is a good wrap up by some smarts http://www.roadtovr.com/verdict-analysis-why-jury-awarded-zenimax-500-million-oculus-vr-lawsuit-facebook-id-software/