Oculus to pay ZeniMax $500M for copyright infringement and false designation

 

On February 1 (CST), a jury in Dallas, Texas ruled in favor of ZeniMax over Oculus in the copyright infringement case.


ZeniMax filed the lawsuit in May 2014, alleging that John Carmack, who was the CEO of id Software, a subsidiary of Jenny Max, used their technology and code in the development of the Oculus. ZeniMax also sued the founder of Oculus, Palmer Luckey, for a breach of non-disclosure agreement and false designation.


ZeniMax demanded compensation for the missed opportunity to develop their own VR hardware and software. The punitive damages for the case amounted to $6 billion.


The jury did not find the use of trade secrets and code to be unauthorized as claimed by ZeniMax, but the jury did rule that the rest of the charges, including the breach of contract, still stand. The ruling concluded that the development of the Oculus Rift is not a solo endeavor and found fault in the defendant’s neglect to designate the use of ZeniMax’s technology in the development process.


The court ordered Oculus to pay $200 million for the violation of the NDA, $50 million for copyright infringement, and $50 million for false designation. Additionally, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe and the co-founder Palmer Luckey were ordered to pay $150 million and $50 million, respectively, for false designation.


Oculus will appeal the verdict, and stated through TechCrunch and Polygon that, “the heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole ZeniMax’s trade secrets, and the jury ruled decisively in our favor. We’re obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today’s verdict, but we are undeterred. Oculus products are built with Oculus technology.”

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