Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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.

8 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. 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 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.

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

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

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

    --
    $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
    1. 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.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    2. 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.