The legal proceedings involving the case that ZeniMax Media has brought against Facebook regarding the technology used by Oculus continues to throw up new twists and turns. This time, a US Court has halved the amount of money that a jury initially ordered Facebook to pay.
A federal curt in Dallas, Texas halved the $500 million (USD) that was initially ordered to be paid to ZeniMax Media as a result of an allegation that Oculus store the technology used in its virtual reality (VR) systems.
US District Judge Ed Kinkeade also refused a request by ZeniMax Media that all sales and promotion of Oculus products be banned due to the copyright violation that ZeniMax says has occurred.
The initial judgement came in February 2017, with Facebook, Oculus and other defendants ordered to pay a combined $500 million to ZeniMax, after finding that Oculus did use computer code developed by ZeniMax in the creation of the Oculus Rift.
Judge Kinkeade said that the $250 million ordered against Oculus and its co-founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe for false designation lacked sufficient evidence for damages.
The order for $200 million for breach of contract and an additional $50 million for copyright infringement will remain in place.
As reported by Bloomberg, ZeniMax is said to be considering its next step, with a statement from the company reading: “Based on a strong evidentiary record, the jury in this case found that ZeniMax was seriously harmed by the defendants’ theft of ZeniMax’s breakthrough VR technology and its verdict reflected that harm.”
Facebook vice president and deputy general counsel Paul Grewal said to Bloomberg that the court ruling: “was a positive step toward a fair resolution, and we will be appealing the remaining claims. We’ve said from day one the ZeniMax case is deeply flawed, and today the court agreed,” Grewal said in a statement. “Our commitment to Oculus is unwavering and we will continue to invest in building the future of VR.”
For further coverage of the ZeniMax Media and Oculus case, keep checking back with VRFocus.