• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Techpalmer luckey

Mark Zuckerberg and Palmer Luckey Testify in Oculus Rift-ZeniMax Trial

By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 21, 2017, 5:08 PM ET
Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus VR. Inc. and creator of the Oculus Rift, demonstrates the new Oculus Rift headset to the media during the Oculus VR Inc. "Step Into The Rift" event in San Francisco,   California, U.S., on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Facebook Inc.'s Oculus virtual-reality headsets will work with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 10 and use the software maker's wireless Xbox game controller. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg  *** Local Caption *** Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus VR. Inc. and creator of the Oculus Rift, demonstrates the new Oculus Rift headset to the media during the Oculus VR Inc. "Step Into The Rift" event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Facebook Inc.'s Oculus virtual-reality headsets will work with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 10 and use the software maker's wireless Xbox game controller. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Palmer LuckeyDavid Paul Morris © 2015 Bloomberg Finance LP

This week saw major developments in a court trial between ZeniMax Media Inc. and Facebook. ZeniMax claims that it contributed substantial resources to the development of the Oculus Rift VR headset, which was purchased by Facebook for more than $2 billion in 2014. Zenimax is seeking damages of $2 billion for violations of intellectual property, and could also seek an injunction halting the sale of the Rift hardware.

At the center of ZeniMax’s claims is legendary games developer John Carmack, who began working with Luckey while Carmack was still employed by ZeniMax through its Id Software unit. ZeniMax claims that Carmack used ZeniMax resources to improve to Oculus Rift prototype, then stole data from ZeniMax computers before taking a position as Chief Technology Officer at Oculus in 2013.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In its suit, initially filed in May of 2014, ZeniMax essentially argues that Luckey isn’t truly the inventor of the Oculus Rift, saying Luckey “lacked the training, expertise, resources or know-how” to develop a viable VR system. According to ZeniMax’s suit, the widely-told story of Luckey creating the Rift over many years of focused tinkering is “false and fanciful.”

On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on that and other questions in a Dallas courtroom. According to the Dallas Morning News, Zuckerberg said that while ZeniMax sent a letter to Facebook shortly after the Oculus aquisition outlining its claims against Carmack and Luckey, the claims were not considered credible. Zuckerberg said he was “highly confident that Oculus products are built on Oculus technology.”

On Wednesday, Oculus Rift inventor Palmer Luckey took the stand, his first time back in the public eye after it was revealed he had bankrolled a group producing pro-Donald Trump material online. ZeniMax’s questioning, as reported by Polygon, focused on the fact that Luckey has little formal engineering education training, and on a nondisclosure agreement signed by Luckey when using ZeniMax assets at an Oculus demonstration.

For more on VR, watch our video.

The trial is expected to last for about two more weeks. If ZeniMax is able to convince the court of its claims, the consequences for the emerging virtual reality industry could be broad. In addition to any cash settlement, ZeniMax would have the option to seek an injunction halting Oculus Rift sales.

 

About the Author
By David Z. Morris
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
In 2026, many employers are ditching merit-based pay bumps in favor of ‘peanut butter raises’
By Emma BurleighFebruary 2, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, February 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerFebruary 2, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Top AI leaders are begging people not to use Moltbook, a social media platform for AI agents: It’s a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
By Eva RoytburgFebruary 2, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cut 70 jobs as the Meta CEO’s philanthropy goes all in on mission to 'cure or prevent all disease'
By Sydney LakeFebruary 1, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

broker
AIMarkets
Oracle defused ‘the key risk going into 2026,’ BofA argues, but the market isn’t buying it
By Nick Lichtenberg and Eva RoytburgFebruary 3, 2026
50 minutes ago
Image of Moltbook app logo on a smart phone with another image of the Moltbook logo in the background.
AIEye on AI
Moltbook is scary—but not for the reasons so many headlines said
By Jeremy KahnFebruary 3, 2026
1 hour ago
Aerial image of the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., off the coast of Rhode Island.
EnergyRenewables
Trump hates the way wind farms look. Too bad, America’s court system says
By Tristan BoveFebruary 3, 2026
3 hours ago
Moltbook image.
AIChatbots
In Moltbook hysteria, former top Facebook researcher sees echoes of 2017 panic over bots building a ‘secret language’
By Jeremy KahnFebruary 3, 2026
4 hours ago
two men smile in front of the camera
CryptoCryptocurrency
Kairos, which is building a cross-platform tool for prediction markets traders, raises $2.5 million from a16z crypto
By Carlos GarciaFebruary 3, 2026
7 hours ago
Cryptostablecoins
Famed startup incubator Y Combinator will let founders receive funds in stablecoins
By Ben WeissFebruary 3, 2026
7 hours ago