Facebook's Zuckerberg Questioned At Trial Over Virtual-Reality Technology

Jan 19, 2017 08:40 AM EST | Joyce Vega

The chief executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg took a witness stand in Dallas federal court on Tuesday. Zuckerberg denied the allegation by a rival company that the virtual reality technology of Facebook’s Oculus unit was stolen.

According to Telegraph, the founder of one of the world’s largest companies, Mark Zuckerberg faced hours of tough, public questioning about where Oculus obtained their ideas and how much he knows about the startup when his company Facebook bought it for $2 billion. The jury is hearing evidence in a civil lawsuit brought by a video game publisher ZeniMax Media Inc against Oculus is 2014 in the middle of the Facebook-Oculus deal.

ZeniMax claims that Oculus used its intellectual property against the law to develop the virtual reality system that includes the Rift headset. Mr. Sammi said that improving on the technology doesn’t make it theirs. Mark Zuckerberg who wore a dark suit and striped tie against his typical T-shirt and jeans said that the idea that Oculus technology is based on someone else’s is wrong. Mark also said that the virtual reality is an important part of the company’s future business.

During one heated exchange with ZeniMax lawyer Tony Sammi, Zuckerberg told the jury in the crowded courtroom that the technology was not even fully formed when Facebook bought it. Oculus acquisition was more expensive than the $2 billion price tag indicated. $700 million were spent to retain employees and $300 million in payouts for reaching milestones. Oculus originally wanted $2 billion, Reuters reported. Zuckerberg said the Oculus deal was done over a weekend in 2014 and Zuckerberg researched Oculus for months.

Mark Zuckerberg also gave details about Facebook’s $22 billion purchase of messaging service WhatsApp in 2014 but WhatsApp declined because of its good relationship with Facebook. Zuckerberg said he has been interested in virtual reality since he was a student. He told jurors how he used virtual reality to capture his daughter’s first steps so her grandparents could experience it later.

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