Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, has become embroiled in an intellectual property lawsuit naming Oculus, a company purchased by Facebook for approximately $2 billion in March 2014. As the leader of the huge California company, Zuckerberg has been ordered to provide a deposition in the case because of his alleged intimate knowledge of the technology at Oculus at the time of its acquisition.
ZeniMax Media has alleged that Oculus violated a nondisclosure agreement concerning the sharing of virtual reality technology for experimental purposes. ZeniMax Media is a video games publisher, and Oculus develops wearable virtual reality headsets. While Oculus developed its prototype headset, its developers used hardware from ZeniMax Media.
The lawsuit asserts that Oculus then exploited its access to the shared technology without compensating ZeniMax Media or acknowledging its contribution. Furthermore, ZeniMax Media alleges that Oculus would not have been able to build a viable virtual reality headset without the shared technology. The plaintiff also claims that Zuckerberg personally tested the virtual reality headset prototype. This experience then influenced Facebook to buy Oculus.
When disputes over intellectual property erupt between two companies, the services of an attorney could become necessary. Details about contracts and nondisclosure agreements need to be studied and their meaning interpreted. Experts who can analyze the intellectual property, especially if it is of a technological nature, might need to be consulted in order to build a case. Corporate disputes of this complexity might also require lengthy negotiations between parties in order to reach a settlement. If that route does not produce results, then an attorney who has this type of litigation experience could represent the company during a trial.
Source: Tech Times, “Zuckerberg To Testify In Oculus vs. ZeniMax Media Intellectual Property Dispute“, Alexandra Burlacu, Dec. 9, 2015
