Oculus founder has been hit with a lawsuit

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By Larry Banks

The founder of the virtual reality headset company Oculus, which was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion, has recently been accused of taking confidential information he learned at another company and passing it off as his own, according to a lawsuit that was filed this week.

Oculus founder sued by Total Recall Technologies

The plaintiff in the case is Hawaii-based company Total Recall Technologies, which said it hired Oculus founder Palmer Luckey in 2011 to build a prototype virtual reality head mounted display. Luckey was said to have signed a confidentiality agreement, according to the lawsuit.

In the second half of 2011 and into 2012, Luckey apparently received feedback and information to improve the headset’s design. However, Luckey used that information to launch a Kickstarter campaign for his own display called the Oculus Rift, the lawsuit says.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, however the amount is not specified.

Palmer Luckey Oculus
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus.

Facebook acquired Oculus last year for $2 billion, it’s first ever hardware deal, as the company sought to find a way into the growing wearable devices market.

Oculus itself is listed as a defendant along with Luckey, and a Facebook representative on Friday apparently decline to comment. The lawsuit was reported by The Recorder, a California legal newspaper.

For the lawsuit. Total Recall Technologies has hired global law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which also has Google and Samsung as clients.

Luckey is accused of breaching his contract and fraud, amongst other claims.

SOURCE: The Recorder.

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