{"id":285499,"date":"2017-01-17T06:17:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T06:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=285499"},"modified":"2017-01-17T06:17:40","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T06:17:40","slug":"facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-due-in-court-over-vr-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/01\/facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-due-in-court-over-vr-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg due in court over VR ‘heist’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mark Zuckerberg is expected to appear in a Dallas court on Tuesday to defend his company over claims it stole virtual reality technology.<\/p>\n
Zenimax Media, owner of renowned games studio id Software, is suing Facebook for $2bn (\u00a31.6bn).<\/p>\n
Zenimax argued its early innovations in VR were unlawfully copied when Oculus built its own headset, the Rift.<\/p>\n
Oculus was bought by Facebook in 2014, and is seen as a major part of the firm\u2019s strategy over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n
The BBC understands Mr Zuckerberg will argue that Zenimax was slow to appreciate the potential of VR – and that it was Oculus\u2019 own work that made it the valuable technology it is today.<\/p>\n
“We’re eager to present our case in court,\u201d a spokesman for Oculus told the BBC.<\/p>\n
“Oculus and its founders have invested a wealth of time and money in VR because we believe it can fundamentally transform the way people interact and communicate.<\/p>\n
“We’re disappointed that another company is using wasteful litigation to attempt to take credit for technology that it did not have the vision, expertise, or patience to build.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmack<\/strong><\/p>\n The row revolves around John Carmack, the legendary games designer famed for titles such as Doom and Quake. The company he co-founded, id Software, is owned by Zenimax.<\/p>\n For a short time, Mr Carmack was working for both id and Oculus – but in November 2013 he left id completely.<\/p>\n