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Facebook Settles Oculus VR Lawsuit With ZeniMax (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the it's-about-time dept.

"Gaming giant ZeniMax Media's lawsuit against Facebook over the misuse of intellectual property related to the founding of Oculus VR has finally been settled," reports TechCrunch. In a statement, ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman said, "We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome. While we dislike litigation, we will always vigorously defend against any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties." From the report: At the trial's conclusion, the judge awarded ZeniMax $500 million in damages to be paid by the defendants, including Facebook and some of the Oculus VR co-founders, a figure that Facebook appealed and had reduced to $250 million. Following the initial verdict, ZeniMax sought an injunction on sales of Facebook's Oculus Rift headset, claiming the device violated key IP. Terms of this settlement weren't disclosed. The trial was notable in that it offered a rare moment on the stand for a number of Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It also gave rare insight into the details surrounding the company's founding and acquisition.

26 comments

  1. Fuck the Zuck! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck the Zuck!

  2. Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm so glad I didn't back Oculus when it was on Kickstarter. I would have been pissed off about hearing Facebook was buying Oculus. I don't have Facebook on my phone, I don't use it on my computer, and I sure as hell will not wear it on my head.

    1. Re:Facebook by Luckyo · · Score: 2

      Those who backed Oculus got way more than what they initially paid for. Not only did they get the RC2 version of the headset, which is what was promised, but they also got the final version. So backers got a really good deal.

      But the facebook deal really soured a lot of people on the company. And for a good reason.

    2. Re:Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I give your mom mustache rides for $50 a pop. Your cuck dad sits in the corner wearing his chastity belt and gimp suit.

    3. Re: Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too funny

    4. Re:Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you probably bring it up in every conversation you can. Most people just don't install an app if they don't want to use it. Some people talk about how they're not using it all the time, because they think it makes them special.

    5. Re:Facebook by WaffleMonster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Those who backed Oculus got way more than what they initially paid for.

      Do you believe Oculus kickstarter campaign would have worked had they mentioned up front intent to sell the company to Facebook?

      Not only did they get the RC2 version of the headset, which is what was promised, but they also got the final version. So backers got a really good deal.

      The final version establishes a persistent connection to Facebook 24x7x365 and sports a predatory privacy policy asserting Facebook has the right to rummage through your system for ANY reason. The reality is they got screwed.

    6. Re: Facebook by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Mustache rides aren't given, moron; they're gotten.

    7. Re: Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the zuckerfuck didnt get involved the rift would likely have used steam for drivers and license management instead of the zuckerfucks proprietary and lone platform.

    8. Re: Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got Linux support pulled under my feet. Now stuch with steam/htc instead.

  3. Fuck the Zuck!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck the Zuck!

  4. And nobody out here cared.... by Joviex · · Score: 1

    Greedy corps making shady deals and steals and we get stuck with non-innovative futures because they cant steal or greed out enough money. News at 11.

    1. Re:And nobody out here cared.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep who cares what Fuckface and Zenimax do? Both should die in a fire.

    2. Re: And nobody out here cared.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A dilly dilly cache of cash

  5. Just in time for the Fallout 76 lawsuits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    $250 million should cover refunds for everyone.

    1. Re:Just in time for the Fallout 76 lawsuits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can suck muh thick, veiny cock creimer. You silly faggot.

  6. How about the John Carmack angle? by SethJohnson · · Score: 1

    Not mentioned in this summary, a large part of this case hinged on what information iD Software founder, John Carmack brought with him from Zenimax to Oculus. Zenimax claimed he had developed significant IP regarding virtual reality while on staff and that was the basis for Oculus getting purchased by Facebook. Zenimax wanted to get paid some of the money that Facebook paid to Oculus in that buyout.

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    1. Re:How about the John Carmack angle? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuckerberg should've vetted this shit better. This and the whole hiring a GOP PR company to smear George Soros is just amateur hour bullshit. The guy needs to be booted out.

    2. Re:How about the John Carmack angle? by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      I'm sure that Carmack signed agreements at some point that any novel technologies he developed while on the clock were owned by Zenimax. And even though the CEO claims "While we dislike litigation" which made me spit water all over my keyboard, they are no stranger to legal proceedings.

      He should have known better, and now Facebook pays the price. If only both of them could have somehow lost.

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    3. Re:How about the John Carmack angle? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Zenimax is run by a bloodsucking lawyer.
      Carmack's only mistake was selling iD to them.

    4. Re:How about the John Carmack angle? by Can'tNot · · Score: 1

      No, that wasn't what Zenimax's lawsuit was about. Carmack used a bit of code that he had written while at Bethesda in a Powerpoint slide at a meeting with staff at Occulous. It was a trivial bit of nothing and he was just using it as an example of the direction in which he wanted to go, that code was never used in the actual software that Occulous wrote, but that was what Zenimax based their case on.

      I am very glad that people are finally realizing what an awful company Bethesda is, even if it is over something as stupid as a nylon bag.

  7. "while we dislike litigation" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hilarious. time to find a new line of work, or at least a different company to work for then.

    1. Re:"while we dislike litigation" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but it's not Mark Chucklefuck is any kind of saint and wouldn't have done the same if things were reversed.

  8. Robert A. Altman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These type of guys are the reason I'm glad I'm not in the gaming industry anymore.
    He's a fucking lawyer that started a gaming company with an actual game developer, and then, as lawyers inevitably do, shafted his partner to try to take control of the company.
    The fucker is married to the first woman I ever fell in love with too. I hate this guy.
    My god, these juries are retarded. Did John Carmack really contribute $250 million to the development of the Oculus? It's a fucking screen with some lenses in front of it for fuck sake. Obviously a lot of work was put in to getting the latency of the entire device down to acceptable levels, but I'm pretty sure any competent engineer assigned the task would have done a reasonable job.

  9. Lies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apparently one place where Facebook can't just lie its way out of its snowballing problems is in court.