Zenimax Pursuing Further Compensation Following $500M Verdict
Zenimax is looking for additional compensation from Facebook and Oculus Rift following the original court ruling which ended in their favour.
The awarded damages, which added up to $550 million, are seen as “an insufficient incentive for Defendants to cease infringing.” In other words, the sum barely makes a dent in Facebook’s enormous coffers. Zenimax is requesting an injunction, a more permanent solution which would actually deter their infringing ways. Facebook’s COO actually said, on a public forum, that the amount in question was “not material to [Facebook’s] financials.” It’s that kind of confidence that helps companies lose enormous amounts of money through the very methods Zenimax is now proposing to the court.
The proposed injunction would “block the sale and distribution of any Oculus products that use its copyrighted code.” This would mean the hardware, the games and the development tools would be impacted by this injunction, were it to go through. There is no word as to what sort of work Oculus would have to do in order to continue selling and operating their VR system, but the costs would likely extend beyond the original settlement.
The other option being sought is what’s known as an “ongoing royalty.” There hasn’t been an amount specified at this time, although twenty percent of revenues for the next decade is the current estimate.
Oculus is, of course, going to the fight the $550 million decision. The success of this venture seems unlikely, given that the original amount Zenimax was going for was almost four times that much. It seems unlikely that the courts will do Oculus VR any more favours at this point.
SOURCE: Polygon