ZeniMax Files Injunction Against Oculus Over Use Of 'Stolen Tech'

ZeniMax, the parent company of Fallout and Skyrim developer Bethesda, has filed for an injunction against VR company Oculus over the recent stolen technology case. ZeniMax had previously accused Oculus of stealing VR-related code, and it was subsequently awarded $500 million by a Dallas court earlier in February.

Now, ZeniMax has filed further papers against Oculus--which is owned by social media giant Facebook--requesting that Oculus's products using the stolen code be removed from sale. Specifically, ZeniMax is seeking to block sales of its mobile and PC developer kits, as well as technology allowing the integration of Oculus Rift with development engines Unreal and Unity, reports Law360.

If the injunction isn't granted, ZeniMax wants a share of "revenues derived from products incorporating its intellectual properties," suggesting a 20 percent cut for at least 10 years. ZeniMax argues the previous settlement of $500 million is "insufficient incentive for [Oculus] to cease infringing."

Oculus, meanwhile, says that "ZeniMax's motion does not change the fact that the [original] verdict was legally flawed and factually unwarranted.

"We look forward to filing our own motion to set aside the jury's verdict and, if necessary, filing an appeal that will allow us to put this litigation behind us," the virtual reality company stated.

The original case concluded in early February after testimonies from many high profile individuals, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Oculus's chief technology officer John Carmack.

Carmack was not found liable for any damages, but he took issue with the court's eventual verdict by saying he "wanted to shout, 'You lie!'"

The revered game programmer found himself at the center of the case from the start. Before his current position at Oculus, he worked for ZeniMax from 2009, when the corporation acquired his studio Id Software for $405 million. In November 2013, he resigned to join Oculus full-time.

But for several months before his departure from Zenimax, Carmack was effectively working for both companies. A year prior to this, he was also helping build a virtual reality version of Doom 3 for Oculus VR.

ZeniMax alleged Carmack "copied thousands of documents from a computer at ZeniMax to a USB storage device."

"He never returned those files or all copies of them after his employment with ZeniMax was terminated," stated the original lawsuit (via Game Informer).

Disclosure: Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of GameSpot parent company CBS, is a member of the ZeniMax board of directors.