UPDATE: A representative of Oculus VR sent us the following statement containing Oculus' official view concerning the trial: “We're eager to present our case in court. Oculus and its founders have invested a wealth of time and money in VR because we believe it can fundamentally transform the way people interact and communicate. We're disappointed that another company is using wasteful litigation to attempt to take credit for technology that it did not have the vision, expertise, or patience to build.” 

ZeniMax Media v. Oculus VR has gone to trial in one of the first major controversies in the fledgling virtual reality industry. ZeniMax accuses that Oculus used stolen technology procured from ZeniMax employees to design and build the Oculus Rift headset.

The core of ZeniMax's allegations is Oculus VR Chief Technical Officer John Carmack's previous relationship with id Software, which was acquired by ZeniMax in 2009. ZeniMax states that Carmack was still a ZeniMax employee when he began working with Oculus VR to develop the Oculus Rift.

A representative of Oculus was quoted by UploadVR as stating, "This complaint filed by ZeniMax is one-sided and conveys only ZeniMax’s interpretation of the story. We continue to believe this case has no merit, and we will address all of ZeniMax’s allegations in court."

The lawsuit originally filed in 2014 shortly after Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR. ZeniMax is seeking $2 billion in damages, which would negate any profit Oculus received from the Facebook purchase.

Mark Zuckerberg and John Carmack can be expected to be present at to testify. ZeniMax Media Inc. v. Oculus VR Inc., 3:14-cv-01849, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas) slated to last three weeks, upon which we'll learn whether the court finds ZeniMax's allegations unfounded or not.