Oculus Founder Accused of Fraud and Theft
There’s no denying that any business that gets millions of dollars, or has the potential to receive millions of dollars, can be cutthroat. Whether it’s people leaving to start their own business, or join a competitor, it can be brutal. In this modern age, where indie games and Kickstarter funded projects raise millions of dollars on name recognition alone, it’s hard not to try and do your own thing without the weight of the “corporate overlords” looking over you shoulder.
However, there’s a line you can’t cross, and in a unexpected (yet not unforeseen if you’ve been paying attention) move, Oculus VR and company founder Palmer Luckey is being accused of breaking an NDA and passing off work as his own. Total Recall Technologies, a company Luckey worked for in 2011-2012, has accused him of taking feedback and information garnered from his time there, and then putting that into his Oculus Rift Kickstarter that he created soon after.
What’s the big deal you ask? Well, he was hired by Total Recall to create a “prototype head mounted display,” and some of the feedback he “took” was advice on how to improve the display. Thus, he essentially took their core concept, improved it, then got funded to make the Oculus Rift.
You can check out the full legal documentation of the lawsuit here. If any more news on this breaks, we’ll let you know.