Facebook’s VR Foray Derided as ‘Fanciful Story’
- ZeniMax alleges Facebook acquisition Oculus stole technology
- Zuckerberg may testify in $2 billion Dallas trial over goggles
Attendees wear Oculus Rift virtual reality at CES 2017.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergFacebook Inc. bet early on virtual reality, buying Oculus VR 2 1/2 years ago to get its groundbreaking headset. Now it’s fighting claims that the Oculus Rift was built with stolen technology and promoted with a false origin story about a young entrepreneur tinkering in his parents’ garage.
What started as a falling out between tech geeks has become a messy $2 billion dispute that may drag Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg onto the witness stand in a Dallas courtroom. The social media giant is accused of completing its acquisition of Oculus in 2014 with “full awareness” that the “holy grail” know-how behind one of Silicon Valley’s most promising consumer devices was misappropriated from another company.