ZeniMax to Oculus VR: We Own Carmack’s Brain

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 2, 2014

Every once in a while, I do discover that I live in bizarro-world. 2013, in particular, was a very bad year for any American who likes to scoff at conspiracy theories. The tinfoil hat crowd were vindicated way too many times that year. So… yes. Yes, I have to admit that every once in a while, I must recheck what seems obvious and realize that the inconceivable is occasionally fact.

So in this bizarro-world, I suppose it is possible that John Carmack, one of the greatest programming minds of our generation, actually swiped property from his former place of employment to plug into what he intended to do at Oculus VR as their CTO, because he didn’t feel confident starting over from scratch with that really hard programming stuff, and really, REALLY needed some reference code…

… I mean besides the reference code he’s already released into the public domain from his past software development at id Software, because he could rewrite all that crap in his sleep, and better optimize it by breakfast the next day.

ZeniMax, the owner of game studios Bethesda (Elder Scrolls series) and id (Doom, Quake, Rage, etc.) is making the claim that “the proprietary technology and know-how Mr. Carmack developed when he was a ZeniMax employee, and used by Oculus, are owned by ZeniMax.”

Carmack has countered that he never patented anything he created at id Software (true story – he’s a vehement opponent of the practice) and that Oculus does not use a single line of code he developed while at Zenimax.

I’ve had to sign non-competes before. I’ve always modified them, because they are usually pretty stupidly broad. Their legal justification (which they really have to work at in a right-to-work state like Utah) is always that the company provides the employee with proprietary skills and knowledge that they must protect from being obtained by a competitor. A friend of mine – my boss at a network marketing company – refused to sign it at all, because they originally hired him in order to obtain his expertise. He’d been working in the field for years, and they desperately needed someone of his skills to help them get off the ground software-wise.

I don’t know what Carmack signed when he allowed id Software to be bought out by ZeniMax, but it sounds like a very similar situation. Frankly, he’s the guy who brought the expertise to the party. Accusing him of stealing “proprietary technology and know-how” is about like accusing Mozart of “stealing notes” to be used in other musical compositions.

Again, I find that I sometimes live in bizarro world, so I can’t completely dismiss the claim, but I find it pretty laughable. Sure, Carmack worked on some prototype VR technology while at ZeniMax. To me, unless they can prove that he’s using code developed on company time at ZeniMax, they don’t have a leg to stand on, and I hope they get smacked down hard in a counter-suit for being such dickweeds about it. The best they can try and claim is that he’s somehow in violation of a non-compete clause in his contract, but that’s not what they seem to be claiming.

As much as companies would prefer otherwise, slavery has been outlawed since 1863 in this country. And no, you can’t lay claim to their brain, either. If you don’t want your employees to walk, you have to keep them happy. And sometimes that won’t work, either, because they just want to try different things. That’s the way it’s supposed to work in the free market. Tough toenails.

Unless they have proof that Carmack stole code or patented technology (and I can’t imagine him doing either), this sounds like nothing more than business as usual. I’m truly frightened by the prospects of life in the tech sector in the U.S. in the 21st century if ZeniMax pulls this off.

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