The parent company of Doom creator id Software and of the Fallout publisher Bethesda, ZeniMax Media, has the intent to prove that Facebook-owned Oculus VR has been build based on stolen tech.
ZeniMax Sued Oculus In 2014
Back in May 2014, Rockville, Maryland-based ZeniMax sued Oculus, alleging that in the development of the Oculus Rift headset the VR startup has been misappropriated certain trade secrets. The lawsuit was filed weeks after John Carmack has been publicly accused by ZeniMax of providing technology to Oculus. Carmack, occupying at present the position of Oculus chief technology officer, used to be the chief executive at id Software.
ZeniMax Vs. Oculus Trial Begins
ZeniMax has accused Oculus that it deliberately destroyed evidence in an attempt to cover up the theft of tech behind Oculus Rift VR headset and some of its foundational elements.
The $2 billion 2014 lawsuit goes to trial in a Dallas courtroom. The trial is set over who actually created the tech behind the popular Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. According to Polygon, Oculus did confirm that Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Others expected to testify in the trial are tech and forensic experts, as well as the former id Software co-founder and chief tech officer Carmack. Oculus co-founder and Rift inventor Palmer Luckey will also take the stand later in the week.
According to Venture Beat, this is one of biggest trials in underway in the gaming industry, with billions on the line. More exactly, in the trial, ZeniMax is seeking in damages the same amount that Facebook bought Oculus for in 2014, $2 billion. This means that in case the court decides in favor of ZeniMax, Oculus could lose a great amount of money.
Positions Of The Two Companies
In the year 2016, the new VR industry came alive with the release of the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift, but this lawsuit adds drama to the emerging market. ZeniMax says in its statement that the company welcomes the opportunity to present substantial evidence of misappropriation of its intellectual propriety with the start of the trial in Federal District Court in Dallas against defendants Oculus and Facebook. That evidence includes the theft of highly confidential information and trade secrets, including computer code. ZeniMax is also ready to present evidence of the defendants' intentional destruction of evidence.
On its turn, Oculus also released a statement, in an attempt to counter Zenimax's claims. According to Oculus, the company is eager to present its case in court and it is disappointed that another company is attempting to take credit for VR technology by using litigation. Oculus and its founders have invested money and time in developing VR with the aim to fundamentally transform the way people interact and communicate, that statement says.
Previously, in August 2016, Oculus told GamesBeat that the complaint filed by ZeniMax conveys only ZeniMax's interpretation of the story and it is one-sided. According to Oculus, the case has no merit and the company is waiting to address all of the allegations in court.
