Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s VR headset in Dallas court
18 Jan 2017
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg defended Facebook's virtual reality headset in a Dallas court yesterday.
The social network had acquired Oculus for $3 billion in March 2014 and was currently being sued by ZeniMax over allegations the Rift was based on stolen trade secrets. (See: Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg to testify in $2-bn lawsuit over VR headset technology)
The lawsuit alleges that former id Software co-founder John Carmack had stolen the firm's intellectual property, when he left to become Oculus' chief technology officer in 2013.
Zuckerberg told the court he had 'never even heard of ZeniMax before' and said his legal team would not spend time on something they thought was not credible.
Zenimax - the parent company of id Software which had produced iconic video games such as Doom - also claimed that Facebook purchased Oculus with 'full awareness' that Carmack allegedly stole the tech.
In opening remarks, a lawyer termed it as 'one of the biggest technology heists ever.'
Denying all claims, Facebook had stated that ZeniMax filed the suit as a 'transparent attempt' to profit from their $2.3 billion purchase of Oculus.
Defending Facebook and Oculus against the allegations, Zuckerberg said, "I am here because I believe (these accusations) are false and I think it's important to testify to that," CNBC reported.
He also revealed for the first time that the company actually paid $3 billion to buy Oculus - rather than the widely reported figure of $2.3billion.
Zuckerberg faced hours of questioning about where Oculus obtained its ideas and how much he had known about the startup when Facebook bought it for $2 billion.
A jury was hearing evidence in a civil lawsuit brought by videogame publisher ZeniMax Media Inc against Oculus in 2014, in the middle of the Facebook-Oculus deal.
In an heated exchange with ZeniMax lawyer Tony Sammi, Zuckerberg told a jury in the crowded courtroom that the technology was not even fully developed when it was acquired.
"Improving on that technology doesn't make it yours," Sammi countered. "If you steal my bike, paint it and put a bell on it, does that make it your bike?"
Zuckerberg, wearing a dark suit and striped tie rather than his typical T-shirt and jeans, answered, "no," but added, "The idea that Oculus technology is based on someone else's is just wrong."
