UPDATE - Jury Awards ZeniMax $500 Million in Oculus Lawsuit
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The jury determined that Oculus did not misappropriate trade secrets, but that co-founder Palmer Luckey violated a non-disclosure agreement.
Update: ZeniMax has responded with a comment on the case, which can be viewed, in full, at the end of this article.
Original: Jurors in a Dallas federal court have awarded $500 million to ZeniMax Media in its case over the Oculus rift, in which ZeniMax was seeking $6 billion in damages - $2 billion in actual damages and $4 billion in punitive damages. In the suit, filed in 2014, ZeniMax alleged that Oculus and its co-founder, Palmer Luckey, illegally obtained virtual reality trade secrets, claiming that it was responsible for developing the technology behind the Oculus VR headset.
The jury determined that Oculus did not misappropriate trade secrets, but that Luckey had violated a non-disclosure agreement. Oculus is responsible for $200 million for the broken NDA, along with an additional $50 million for copyright infringement and $50 million for false designation. Co-founders Luckey and Brendan Iribe are also responsible for $50 million and $150 million respectively for false designation.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson stated that Oculus will be appealing the decision.
"The heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole ZeniMax's trade secrets, and the jury found decisively in our favor. We're obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today's verdict, but we are undeterred," an Oculus spokesperson told The Escapist. "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. We look forward to filing our appeal and eventually putting this litigation behind us."
ZeniMax, when reached for comment, sent the following statement:
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//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1374/1374966.jpg
The jury determined that Oculus did not misappropriate trade secrets, but that co-founder Palmer Luckey violated a non-disclosure agreement.
Update: ZeniMax has responded with a comment on the case, which can be viewed, in full, at the end of this article.
Original: Jurors in a Dallas federal court have awarded $500 million to ZeniMax Media in its case over the Oculus rift, in which ZeniMax was seeking $6 billion in damages - $2 billion in actual damages and $4 billion in punitive damages. In the suit, filed in 2014, ZeniMax alleged that Oculus and its co-founder, Palmer Luckey, illegally obtained virtual reality trade secrets, claiming that it was responsible for developing the technology behind the Oculus VR headset.
The jury determined that Oculus did not misappropriate trade secrets, but that Luckey had violated a non-disclosure agreement. Oculus is responsible for $200 million for the broken NDA, along with an additional $50 million for copyright infringement and $50 million for false designation. Co-founders Luckey and Brendan Iribe are also responsible for $50 million and $150 million respectively for false designation.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson stated that Oculus will be appealing the decision.
"The heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole ZeniMax's trade secrets, and the jury found decisively in our favor. We're obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today's verdict, but we are undeterred," an Oculus spokesperson told The Escapist. "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. We look forward to filing our appeal and eventually putting this litigation behind us."
ZeniMax, when reached for comment, sent the following statement:
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