All Mode
Last week I told you virtual reality porn-dogs that you may have to worry about your precious Oculus getting trademark sued. Well, the trial has ended, and the jury has reached a verdict. There is some bad news, and there is some good news.
First the Bad News
In Dallas, Texas where the trial occurred, a jury found that Oculus owes ZeniMax 500 million big ones. That is no chump change, but it could be worse. Most of this 500 million dollar fine comes from issues related to broken “non-disclosure” agreements. The jury found that Palmer Luckey breached a non-disclosure agreement and owed 50 million out of his pocket. Oculus itself is being fined 200 for breaking non-disclosure agreement while Former CEO of Oculus, Iribe also must pay 150 Million dollars for false designation. Palmer and Oculus must also pay another 50 million for false designation.
All of these charges stem from the fact that Oculus and Zenimax were close partners during early development days. Even Doom 3 was initially used as an Oculus Rift tech demo. Zenimax believe’s that some of the core technologies still being used in Oculus were taken from their code.
Now the Good News
The jury does not believe this claim. This was the most important element of the trial. Such a damning conclusions would have led to Oculus’s demise. The jury believes that no trade secrets were stolen therefore most of the 4 billion dollar claim was dropped to the 500 Million just described.
The jury didn’t think that trade secrets were stolen
Speaking to the Press Oculus said:
“The heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole ZeniMax’s trade secrets, and the jury found decisively in our favor,” an Oculus spokesperson told Polygon. “We’re obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today’s verdict, but we are undeterred. Oculus products are built with Oculus technology. 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.”
Never Giving Up!
Oculus plans on appealing the ruling as they don’t even want to pay 500 million to ZeniMax. If their appeal is accepted, which it probably will be, the case will move to a higher court where a jury could decide in Oculus’s or ZeniMax’s favor. Because the jury found that no trade secrets were stolen, Oculus probably believes that the risk of going to a higher court is nominal. Either way, it is looking like Oculus Rift is safe for the time being.
Image credit: VRCOSPLAYX
So enjoy the Oculus Rift, as it is one of the best virtual reality headsets out there. It provides amazing gaming and virtual reality porn experiences. It works with all the videos on our site.
i don’t think Oculus must have broke any of the rules when working with ZeniMax, atleast not worth to $500 million…….as claimed by them!!
If it weren’t for the actual work that Palmer, Carmack, Iribe, and everybody else did, the value of the IP that Zenimax claims would be worth $0. So fucking tired of this troll bullshit.
Oculus CTO and previous ZeniMax employee – John Camarack – who has been at the centre of this controversy has issued a explanatory statement yesterday after the verdict claiming all the allegations of stolen-tech to be baseless…. Its now more a battle of prestige and integrity for Oculus and its team rather than the big bucks itself.