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AP Photo/John Locher

Facebook ordered to pay $500 million in Oculus Rift theft case

The lawsuit claimed Oculus founder Palmer Luckey developed the virtual reality gear using source code illegally obtained from the gaming firm.

A US JURY has ordered Facebook and creators of its Oculus Rift to pay $500 million to gaming software firm ZeniMax in a lawsuit that claimed the virtual reality technology was stolen.

The Texas jury made the award in a trial in which Oculus was accused of basing its Rift headset on technology stolen from ZeniMax’s virtual reality software, court documents showed.

The lawsuit claimed Oculus founder Palmer Luckey developed the virtual reality gear using source code illegally obtained from the gaming firm.

ZeniMax said it was “pleased” about the award for “unlawful infringement of our copyrights and trademarks, and for the violation of our non-disclosure agreement with Oculus pursuant to which we shared breakthrough VR technology that we had developed and that we exclusively own.”

Robert Altman, ZeniMax’s chairman and chief executive, said in the statement: “Technology is the foundation of our business and we consider the theft of our intellectual property to be a serious matter.”

Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014 for more than $2 billion and last year began selling the Rift headsets as part of the social network’s push into virtual reality.

© – AFP 2017

Read: Poll: Would you log off Facebook for a month?

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    Mute Patrick
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:09 PM

    Thats virtually nothing compared to what it will earn in the future. I would say they are no talking anymore(bit of a rift between them)

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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Feb 2nd 2017, 9:03 AM

    It might bring them closer together considering Facebook’s history

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    John
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    Mute John
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:03 PM

    Is that a real $500m or virtual $500?

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    Mute Pat D'Arcy
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:06 PM

    @John: Is that real satire or virtual satire?

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    Mute Brendan Moore
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:09 PM

    @Pat Is that real sarcasm or virtual sarcasm?

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    John
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    Mute John
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:10 PM

    Hold on until I take the headset off….

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:13 PM

    Interestingly one of the main corporate beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s victory has been social media.
    Facebook usage has increased by a few per cent since the inauguration.
    Facebook is the platform which will facilitate the emergence of Big Brother totalitarianism.

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    Mute Jimmyjoe Wallace
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:16 PM

    Also 1984 has gone to the top of the bestseller lists, because people recognise that in fact it us Trump and his appointed cronies that actually represent the emergence of Big Brother totalitarianism

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    Mute William Kavanagh
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    Feb 2nd 2017, 2:06 AM

    @Jimmyjoe Wallace: where have you been for the last 10-15 years??

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    Mute Shane Murphy
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:32 PM

    Facebooks quarterly figures just realised $8.63 billion in advertising revenue alone, $500mill hardly a dent

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    Mute Missyb211
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    Feb 2nd 2017, 7:28 AM

    Hate when headlines give everything away so that when you’re reading the article you think you’re stuck in a loop reading the same sentence over and over! Couldn’t give a sh*t now about the story!

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    Mute Jackson Bollovks
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    Feb 2nd 2017, 12:28 AM

    Haha that’s the sack for Parker and his douchey Hawaiian shirts

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    Mute Rochelle
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:35 PM

    A bad few months for Palmer Luckey, hopefully plenty more ahead!

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    Mute Seán J. Troy
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    Feb 1st 2017, 11:15 PM

    They didn’t get a royalty out of it? Surprising.

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