Nearly five years after announcing its acquisition of OculusVR, Facebook is finally ready to put the drama surrounding its founding behind it.
Gaming giant ZeniMax Media’s lawsuit against Facebook over the misuse of intellectual property related to the founding of OculusVR has finally been settled.
In a statement, ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman confirmed the settlement saying, “We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome. While we dislike litigation, we will always vigorously defend against any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties.”
At the trial’s conclusion, the judge awarded ZeniMax $500 million in damages to be paid by the defendants including Facebook and some of the OculusVR co-founders, a figure that Facebook appealed and had reduced to $250 million. Following the initial verdict, ZeniMax sought an injunction on sales of Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset, claiming the device violated key IP. Terms of this settlement weren’t disclosed.
The trial was notable in that offered a rare moment on the stand for a number of Facebook executives including CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It also gave rare insight into the details surrounding the company’s founding and acquisition.
We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment.