Zenimax And Id Officially File Suit Against Oculus Rift

Knottypine

Just wondering what people think about this?

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/05/21/zenimax-and-id-officially-file-suit-against-oculus-rift.aspx

Swampster

With the weight of Facebook behind them now.. I doubt they're too worried

wrlifeboil

Gamers rarely win in legal disputes between companies so it's a non-issue for us but this legal stuff was inevitable when someone at Zenimax probably had an "oh, cr*p" moment when Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus hit the newswires.

AlexDougherty

Knottypine wrote: »

Just wondering what people think about this?

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/05/21/zenimax-and-id-officially-file-suit-against-oculus-rift.aspx

I think the evidence will be dry and boring, and probably too complex to follow unless your a fanatic on oneside or the other.

Nazon_Katts

If it wasn't for that weight exactly, they'd sued 'em sooner, don't ya think.

Kaelis33

I think Zenimax has lost its mind. Their single claim in this is that John Carmacks brain belongs to them Its sickening to see a company file such a frivolous lawsuit. I hope Zenimax loses very harshly.

Carmack used no code from Zenimax
Zenimax was not even interested in developing VR

Zenimax seems to think they own whatever Carmack does for the duration of his life. Its time the Judicial System put an end to these types of wild claims. Zenimax is merely foshing for money.

Keep in mind Zenimax has not done ONE thing for VR consumers. They have provided ZILCH NOTHING at all. In fact they are trying to hinder an honest company from developing something of great value for consumers. If there is any justice in this world Zenimax will be dealt with appropriately.

wrlifeboil

Kaelis33 wrote: »

I think Zenimax has lost its mind. Their single claim in this is that John Carmacks brain belongs to them Its sickening to see a company file such a frivolous lawsuit. I hope Zenimax loses very harshly.

Carmack used no code from Zenimax
Zenimax was not even interested in developing VR

Zenimax seems to think they own whatever Carmack does for the duration of his life. Its time the Judicial System put an end to these types of wild claims. Zenimax is merely foshing for money.

Keep in mind Zenimax has not done ONE thing for VR consumers. They have provided ZILCH NOTHING at all. In fact they are trying to hinder an honest company from developing something of great value for consumers. If there is any justice in this world Zenimax will be dealt with appropriately.

Based on info from other web sites, it will probably come down to what was covered in his employment contract and how it is interpreted.

Akhratos

Swampster wrote: »

With the weight of Facebook behind them now.. I doubt they're too worried

Yes, because fakebook has never lost a lawsuit.

http://www.complex.com/tech/2012/06/facebook-loses-10-million-lawsuit-over-sponsored-stories

errrr...

Akhratos

Kaelis33 wrote: »

I think Zenimax has lost its mind. Their single claim in this is that John Carmacks brain belongs to them Its sickening to see a company file such a frivolous lawsuit. I hope Zenimax loses very harshly.

Carmack used no code from Zenimax
Zenimax was not even interested in developing VR

Zenimax seems to think they own whatever Carmack does for the duration of his life. Its time the Judicial System put an end to these types of wild claims. Zenimax is merely foshing for money.

Keep in mind Zenimax has not done ONE thing for VR consumers. They have provided ZILCH NOTHING at all. In fact they are trying to hinder an honest company from developing something of great value for consumers. If there is any justice in this world Zenimax will be dealt with appropriately.

We are talking about research. You dont need to deliver anything to the "VR consumers" (if they ever exist) to have a valid and worthy research. You know what research means, right?

I doubt their claim is Carmacks brain being their property. If a judge might see evidence of the ZMO claims being true, he could request aditional info about the projects that are supposedly based in ZMO research knowledge, wich would never happen between them both without a judge (would you let them look at your code? no, no matter you have or have not used anything of their property).

@AlexDougherty +1

wrlifeboil

Archaon wrote: »

Kaelis33 wrote: »

I think Zenimax has lost its mind. Their single claim in this is that John Carmacks brain belongs to them Its sickening to see a company file such a frivolous lawsuit. I hope Zenimax loses very harshly.

Carmack used no code from Zenimax
Zenimax was not even interested in developing VR

Zenimax seems to think they own whatever Carmack does for the duration of his life. Its time the Judicial System put an end to these types of wild claims. Zenimax is merely foshing for money.

Keep in mind Zenimax has not done ONE thing for VR consumers. They have provided ZILCH NOTHING at all. In fact they are trying to hinder an honest company from developing something of great value for consumers. If there is any justice in this world Zenimax will be dealt with appropriately.

We are talking about research. You dont need to deliver anything to the "VR consumers" (if they ever exist) to have a valid and worthy research. You know what research means, right?

I doubt their claim is Carmacks brain being their property. If a judge might see evidence of the ZMO claims being true, he could request aditional info about the projects that are supposedly based in ZMO research knowledge, wich would never happen between them both without a judge (would you let them look at your code? no, no matter you have or have not used anything of their property).

@AlexDougherty +1

Read the article posted on Ars Technica today. It hashes out the issues in language that most of us can understand. One juicy nugget in that article is Oculus offered Zenimax a 3% stake for an investment of $1.2 million. That investment would have been worth $60 million after the Facebook buyout. I wonder how rich John Carmack is now.

Aeradon

It's going to be a long debate. If the NDA is in fact established during the research and acknowledged by both Lurkey and Carmack, Zenimax might stand a good chance. Given that research notes could be claimed as personal intellectual property by Carmack.

However, since Facebook is in place, the documentations must've already been presented wholly prior to the proposal. Doubt Facebook will make such a hasty decision. But Zuckerberg takes the share market as his shopping mall, who knows?

Swampster

Archaon wrote: »

Swampster wrote: »

With the weight of Facebook behind them now.. I doubt they're too worried

Yes, because fakebook has never lost a lawsuit.

http://www.complex.com/tech/2012/06/facebook-loses-10-million-lawsuit-over-sponsored-stories

errrr...

errrr...

Yes, because it's not about whether they win or lose... more about the financial clout they now have behind them. It's hardly likely to hurt them like it would have done had Facebook not bought them..