Zenimax Accuses John Carmack of Stealing VR Tech

[ElNono]

John Carmack made waves last year when he left id Software, owned by Zenimax, to join Oculus VR in order to help create its virtual reality headset. Now Zenimax has sent documents to Oculus's legal department claiming Carmack "stole" technology from them when he left (http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/01/zenimax-claims-oculus-stole/). They said, "The proprietary technology and know-how Mr. Carmack developed when he was a ZeniMax employee, and used by Oculus, are owned by ZeniMax. Well before the Facebook transaction was announced, Mr. Luckey acknowledged in writing ZeniMax's legal ownership (http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702303948104579534013624548846-lMyQjAxMTA0MDMwMDEzNDAyWj) of this intellectual property. It was further agreed that Mr. Luckey would not disclose this technology to third persons without approval." Carmack says, "No work I have ever done has been patented (https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/461918500307472384). Zenimax owns the code that I wrote, but they don't own VR." Oculus was also dismissive: "It's unfortunate, but when there's this type of transaction, people come out of the woodwork with ridiculous and absurd claims."

[leemajors]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/1/5672928/this-document-could-decide-whether-oculus-owes-zenimax-millions

[The Reckoning]

lol intellectual property. it happens all the time. people work for a company for five years, take what they know, and start their own. i don't see what the big deal is here. it's called competition.

[leemajors]

lol intellectual property. it happens all the time. people work for a company for five years, take what they know, and start their own. i don't see what the big deal is here. it's called competition.

that's why you read the fine print on your employment contract. doesn't happen too often in large corporations because of this.