ZeniMax Media alongside Id Software have decided to file a lawsuit against Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey for a myriad of alleged offenses including misappropriating trade secrets related to VR, infringement of ZeniMax’s copyright, breaching contract and more.
Interestingly enough, John Carmack wasn’t named in the lawsuit, despite all of this starting when the legendary developer left Id Software to join Oculus Rift. the lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. Distract Court located in the Northern Distract of Texas.
The lawsuit accuses Oculus had the help of John Carmack in hiring multiple of its ‘former employees’ and of course those former employees knew confidential and confidential and proprietary information which would give Oculus a “free-ride” on its way to success thanks to ZeniMax’s hard work.
Robert Altman who is the Chairman & CEO of ZeniMax said in a statement: “Intellectual property forms the foundation of our business. We cannot ignore the unlawful exploitation of intellectual property that we develop and own, nor will we allow misappropriation and infringement to go un-addressed.”
One could be forgiven for wondering why the lawsuit comes now, after Facebook have bought Oculus Rift for a cool $2 billion U.S. dollars back in March of this year (2014). A few critics are wondering if it was to ensure they walk away from the lawsuit with a larger chunk of change. Regardless, ZeniMax own both Bethesda and Id Software, and so the outcome of the case is likely to be fairly bloody with the true winners here being the legal teams.
