Extracto del artículo original:
"John Carmack's Former Employer Says He Stole Their Tech"
Doom co-creator and all-around genius John Carmack left the company he helped
found last year, and now the people he used to work for say he took their
technology with him.
Last summer, Carmack left id Software for the virtual reality company Oculus
Rift, which was purchased by Facebook earlier this year for $2 billion.
Zenimax, the parent company of id, is now threatening legal action, claiming
that Carmack took proprietary technology he developed at id and used it to help
"develop and market" the Oculus Rift goggles, which allow you to look around
and virtually inhabit a video game world.
There have been no lawsuits filed yet, but both parties have swapped formal
letters about the issue. The Wall Street Journal saw documents exchanged
between lawyers from Zenimax and Oculus, and the claims are harsh.
"It was only through the concerted efforts of Mr. Carmack, using technology
developed over many years at, and owned by, ZeniMax, that Mr. Luckey was able
to transform his garage-based pipe dream into a working reality," Zenimax
lawyers wrote to Oculus and Facebook, according to the Journal.
"It's unfortunate, but when there's this type of transaction, people come out
of the woodwork with ridiculous and absurd claims," Oculus said in a statement
to media. "We intend to vigorously defend Oculus and its investors to the
fullest extent."
And here's the full statement Zenimax sent out to media including Engadget:
ZeniMax confirms it recently sent formal notice of its legal rights to Oculus concerning its ownership of key technology used by Oculus to develop and
market the Oculus Rift. ZeniMax's technology may not be licensed, transferred
or sold without ZeniMax Media's approval. ZeniMax's intellectual property
rights arise by reason of extensive VR research and development works done over
a number of years by John Carmack while a ZeniMax employee, and others. ZeniMax
provided necessary VR technology and other valuable assistance to Palmer Luckey
and other Oculus employees in 2012 and 2013 to make the Oculus Rift a viable VR
product, superior to other VR market offerings.
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 of this intellectual property. It was further agreed
that Mr. Luckey would not disclose this technology to third persons without
approval. Oculus has used and exploited ZeniMax's technology and intellectual
property without authorization, compensation or credit to ZeniMax. ZeniMax and
Oculus previously attempted to reach an agreement whereby ZeniMax would be
compensated for its intellectual property through equity ownership in Oculus
but were unable to reach a satisfactory resolution. ZeniMax believes it is
necessary to address these matters now and will take the necessary action to
protect its interests."
Carmack also chimed in this afternoon:
No work I have ever done has been patented. Zenimax owns the code that I wrote, but they don't own VR.
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) May 1, 2014Resumen en español:
El verano pasado John Carmack dejó Id Software para trabajar en Oculus que a su
vez fue adquirida por Facebook a principios de año por dos milmillones de
dólares.
Zenimax, compañía propietaria de Id Software, amenaza con acciones legales
basándose en que Carmack utilizó tecnología desarrollada por él cuando
trabajaba en Id Software para ayudar en el desarrollo y comercialización de
Oculus Rift, las gafas de RV.
Los abogados de Zenimax y Oculus ya se han intercambiado cartas sobre el asunto
aunque no hay todavía proceso legal en marcha.
Según el comunicado de Zenimax, mucho antes de que Facebook comprase Oculus,
Luckey admitió por escrito una propiedad intelectual (que no puede contar a
terceros) de Zenimax sobre la tecnología de VR desarrollada por Carmack.
Zenimax y Oculus trataron de acordar una compensación por esta propiedad
intelectual pero no lo consiguieron. Zenimax cree necesario resolver este asunto ahora
e iniciará las acciones necesarias para proteger sus intereses.
Comentario de Carmack en Twitter:
Mi trabajo nunca ha sido patentado. Zenimax es dueña del código que escribí
pero no de la RV.
http://kotaku.com/john-carmacks-former-employer-says-he-stole-their-tech-1570391401
https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack
Opinión personal sobre el asunto:
Al igual que sugieren algunos comentarios en kotaku, la compra por parte de Facebook les ha puesto en el punto de mira una tecnología por la que antes no daban un duro. Ahora lo que ven son dos mil millones de dólares y quieren su trozo de tarta.
