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The ongoing feud between ZeniMax and Oculus is on the verge of getting even nastier. Documents filed with a Texas court last week ask that sales of the Oculus Rift and any associated software be halted.
This follows ZeniMax being awarded $500m earlier this month after it was found that Oculus violated an NDA, although the VR company was cleared of the accusation that it stole trade secrets.
ZeniMax now argues that these measures do not go far enough, however.
The jury’s damage award here, however substantial, is an insufficient incentive for Defendants to cease infringing,” ZeniMax said. Just minutes after the jury revealed its verdict, Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, publicly stated that the jury’s verdict of a half billion dollars was ‘not material to [Facebook’s] financials’.”
Furthermore it wants to see Oculus "permanently enjoined, on a worldwide basis, from using, marketing, selling, distributing, modifying, servicing, copying, or offering for sale or license any products, in whole or in part, that utilize in any form or for any purpose any of the Copyrighted Materials".
If ZeniMax is successful not only could sales of the Oculus Rift be halted, but also sales of associated mobile products – such as Samsung’s Gear VR – and assorted software, including tools relating to the integration of Oculus with Unreal Engine and Unity. There will also be a knock-on effect for developers, too.
Even if the request is denied by the court, Oculus and parent Facebook might face the prospect of an ongoing royalty payment, with the request being for 20 per cent of revenues for at least ten years.
All of which, basically, would force Facebook and Oculus into agreeing a settlement that ZeniMax is happy with.
