Mark Zuckerberg Testifies In Oculus Vs ZeniMax Trial

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On January 17,2017, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testified in a courtroom in Dallas in an Oculus vs ZeniMax trial. Facebook has acquired the Oculus VR for more than $2 billion. If Zenimax wins the legal battle, Facebook stands to lose $2 billion more on the virtual reality technology.

The New York Times reported that Mark Zuckerberg wore a suit and tie to the courtroom instead of his staple T-shirt and jeans. He said that the virtual reality will take another five to 10 years of development to reach before we can experience it fully. Facebook will probably invest more than $3 billion over the next ten years to provide good virtual reality experience to users. He also said that he had never testified in a courtroom before and denied accusations that Oculus technology is not its own.

ZeniMax's lawyer accused that Facebook rushed through its Oculus review and overlooked its dispute with his client. Zuckerberg responded by saying that his company spends weeks, months or even years in discussing issues before making any acquisitions. However, he also said his company acquired WhatsApp and Instagram earlier, and time is of essence in such negotiations where they have to compete with tech giants like Google, Apple and Twitter.

ZeniMax had sued Oculus for stealing its VR technology and misappropriating its trade secrets in May 2014, when Facebook announced that it is going to acquire the start-up. As Latinos Health had reported earlier, Zenimax accuses that John Carmack, its former employee, had sold its tech and trade secrets to Palmer Luckey who invented Oculus Rift. The case is up for jury trial now.

The Oculus deal was code-named 'Inception' by Facebook. Iribe had originally asked for $4 billion for Oculus but the deal was later settled for $2 billion with an additional payment of $700 million to retain important members of the Oculus team and $300 million for reaching pre-determined milestones. In December 2016, Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe had stepped down as the Chief Executive of the company.