ZeniMax Increases Damages Demand From Facebook to $4 Billion

By S. Rina, | January 28, 2017

ZeniMax is now not only pushing for compensation from Facebook but also for punitive damages.

ZeniMax is now not only pushing for compensation from Facebook but also for punitive damages.

Facebook is currently embroiled in a bitter fight with ZeniMax over code issues. The company is now seeking $2 billion in compensation and $2 billion in punitive damages. ZeniMax has accused Oculus of stealing its source code. Oculus was bought by Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion.

The trial started earlier this month in Dallas. ZeniMax claims that Oculus VR misappropriated key technology from it. However, Facebook has denied any such claims. ZeniMax also claims that Facebook had "full awareness" of this while it purchased Oculus.  

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The trial names John Carmack for stealing core intellectual property including hardware and software. Carmack had left ZeniMax and joined Oculus. ZeniMax is based in Maryland. It has designed several video games including Quake and Doom. The company has accused Plamer Luckey of falsifying his story of developing the VR headset.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has testified in the case. Zenimax attorney Anthony Sammi said, "We're here because the defendants stole something very valuable." However, Oculus legal counsel Beth Wilkinson said that Zenimax's lawsuit is driven by jealousy, anger, and embarrassment rather than factual claims.

ZeniMax is now not only pushing for compensation but also for punitive damages. ZeniMax attorney has cited Facebook's net worth as one of the reasons for higher compensation and damages.

However, the defendant claims that ZeniMax was not factoring in the VR use of the technology. It also presented a 2013 email exchange between ZeniMax and Carmack where the latter pushed for VR outreach, but ZeniMax asked him to concentrate on Doom 4.

The trial has seen various high profile witnesses take the stand including Mark Zuckerberg, John Carmack, Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe. Oculus forms the core of Facebook's VR venture. The social networking company started selling Rift Headset in March 2016 for $599 apiece. It is currently working on creating new content for the headset. 

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