Judge greenlights proprietary violation lawsuit against Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey, the co-founder of the virtual reality tech firm, Oculus VR, has been required by a California judge to face the lawsuit filed against him by his former employer. According to the lawsuit, Luckey allegedly violated the confidentiality agreement he had with Total Recall Technologies.

According to Reuters, Luckey joined Total Recall Technologies in 2011. One of the main projects that he handled with the Hawaii-based company is a head-mounted display.

To protect the proprietary ownership of the company on the display, Total Recall Technologies required Luckey to sign a confidentiality contract. But then, after the former employee left the company, he launched Oculus VR.

With his new company, which he founded with Brendan Iribe, Luckey began working on the virtual reality head-mounted display, Oculus Rift. But according to Total Recall Technologies, he used the knowledge he learned about during his time with the company to create Oculus VR's first major commercial product.

Due to the alleged violation, Total Recall Technologies filed a lawsuit against Luckey last year. On Saturday, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California approved the lawsuit during a hearing held in San Francisco, Game Politics reported.

Although the judge gave the lawsuit the go signal, he also dismissed other charges made by the company against Luckey, such as fraud. Therefore, the only claim that Luckey will face in court will be breach of contract.

According to Engadget, despite getting the judge's approval, the case against Luckey cannot be considered as a sure win for Total Recall Technologies. The plaintiffs still have to prove the specific technological concepts that the Oculus VR co-founder illegally used to develop the Oculus Rift.

As for Luckey, the executive noted that his former employer is only suing him to get in on the company's earnings. Specifically, he noted that Total Recall Technologies only turned its sights on Oculus VR after it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion.

Tags

Oculus VR Founder, Oculus VR Palmer Luckey, Oculus Rift Headset, Oculus VR Lawsuit, Oculus VR Controversy

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