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 A US court has awarded $500m (£395m) to a firm which sued Facebook and other defendants over the use of its virtual reality technology. 
 
 The jury found Oculus, which Facebook bought in 2014, had breached a contract with video game developer Zenimax when launching its own VR headset. 
 
 Oculus said it was "disappointed" and would appeal against the ruling. 
 
 The case threatened to overshadow Facebook's latest results, which showed it enjoyed a strong end to the year. 
 
 Facebook's net profit more than doubled to $3.6bn in the fourth quarter. 
 
 The social network was helped by 53% growth in advertising revenues, and said it was on course to hit two billion users in the first half of 2017. 
 
 'Trade secrets' 
 
 Shortly before the results came out, the court awarded Zenimax damages from Facebook, Oculus and Oculus executives following a three-week trial. 
 
 Zenimax had argued that its early innovations in virtual reality were unlawfully copied when Oculus built its own headset, the Rift. 
 
 An Oculus spokesperson said the jury rejected this argument, but did find that Oculus breached a contract with Zenimax and infringed some of its copyright. 
 
 "The heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole Zenimax's trade secrets, and the jury found decisively in our favour," the Oculus spokesperson said. 
 
 The firm did not comment on the $500m damages. 
 
 Copyright infringement 
 
 Zenimax chief executive Robert Altman said: "We are pleased that the jury in our case in the US District Court in Dallas has awarded Zenimax $500m for defendants' unlawful infringement of our copyrights and trademarks." 
 
 The co-founder of Oculus, Palmer Luckey, was found to have broken a non-disclosure agreement with the firm. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 By Dave Lee, BBC North America technology reporter 
 
 Few people will have given Mark Zuckerberg as many headaches as Palmer Luckey. 
 
 The 24-year-old founded Oculus VR, and when Facebook stepped in to buy the firm for $2bn, he was rewarded very handsomely indeed. Then it went a bit downhill. 
 
 First, it was revealed he was using some of that money to fund a pro-Donald Trump trolling campaign, which led to Facebook removing him from public view. He didn't even turn up to his own company's developer's conference last year. 
 
 And now, a jury has ruled that he broke a non-disclosure agreement that'll mean $500m in damages (unless Facebook wins on appeal). 
 
 Mark Zuckerberg doesn't display many emotions - but you wonder what he'll be like behind closed doors on this one. 
 
 As it stands, Palmer Luckey is still a Facebook employee, but what he's doing there is anyone's guess - the company won't even tell me his job title. 
 
 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified last month that "the idea that Oculus products are based on someone else's technology is just wrong". 
 
 Zenimax, which owns id Software, a video games developer, was suing Facebook for $2bn. 
 
 Along with the claims against Palmer Luckey, it alleged that John Carmack, co-founder of id, took intellectual property belonging to Zenimax when he left the firm to join Oculus as its full-time chief technology officer. 
 
 'Stellar quarter' 
 
 Virtual reality is only a small part of Facebook's current business, but is seen as important to the firm's strategy over the next 10 years. 
 
 Most of Facebook's fourth-quarter revenue - which jumped 54% to $27.6bn - came from adverts on its social network. 
 
 "Facebook had another stellar quarter, delivering record revenue, user growth and profitability, as it rides the shift of advertising to online," said Martin Garner, a senior analyst at CCS Insight. 
 
 "However it expects advertising growth to slow in 2017, so it expects to be less profitable this year." 
 
 Fake news 
 
 Other challenges that Facebook face this year include a changing approach to privacy in Europe, an uncertain business landscape in the US and challenges in China, Mr Garner said. 
 
 The social network has also been widely criticised after some users complained that fake news on its platform had influenced the US presidential election. 
 
 In a call with analysts on Wednesday, Facebook executives signalled it would tackle the problem through the use of more artificial intelligence. 
 
 They also said many of Facebook's new users were in India, where telecoms operators had offered free data packages for Facebook traffic. 
 
 For the full year, Facebook grew its net profit by 177% to $10.2bn. ||||| William Wei, Business Insider Facebook is buying Oculus VR, a startup that makes virtual reality headsets, in a $2 billion deal. 
 
 Oculus doesn't make a consumer product yet, but its headset called the Oculus Rift for video game developers has completely changed the way many feel about video games. 
 
 The device is nearly impossible to describe. It makes you feel like you're truly immersed in a virtual environment. It's one of those things you have to try to fully understand. And we guarantee it'll blow your mind. 
 
 Console gaming companies have sensed the threat of Oculus, which is why Sony announced a similar headset for its new PlayStation 4 gaming console. However, it's unclear when Sony's headset will launch. 
 
 The question now is: why would Facebook buy a video game hardware company? 
 
 According to a statement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the company plans to expand Oculus beyond gaming: 
 
 After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home. 
 
 Zuckerberg expanded on that in a conference call following the announcement, saying he believes virtual reality will be the next big computing platform after mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. 
 
 "History suggests that there will be more platforms to come," Zuckerberg said on the conference call, adding that the person who controls that major computing platform will be able to shape the entire tech industry. 
 
 "Today's acquisition is a long-term bet on the future of computing," Zuckerberg said. 
 
 Oculus got its start on crowdfunding site Kickstarter, where it raised $2.4 million in 2012. Since then, other VCs have invested in the company. Most recently, Oculus raised $75 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Marc Andreessen, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz and a Facebook board member, tweeted today that he recused himself from acquisition talks between Facebook and Oculus VR. 
 
 Last summer, Business Insider spoke with Oculus VR's 21-year-old founder Palmer Luckey about how he came up with the device. He got started at a young age, tinkering with all kinds of computerized headsets. You can read the full interview here. 
 
 By the way, this isn't Facebook's only recent major acquisition. Just a few weeks ago, Facebook bought WhatsApp in a $19 billion deal. 
 
 Here's Zuckerberg's full statement on the deal: 
 
 I'm excited to announce that we've agreed to acquire Oculus VR, the leader in virtual reality technology. 
 
 Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. For the past few years, this has mostly meant building mobile apps that help you share with the people you care about. We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences. 
 
 This is where Oculus comes in. They build virtual reality technology, like the Oculus Rift headset. When you put it on, you enter a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away. The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you're actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it's different from anything they've ever experienced in their lives. 
 
 Oculus's mission is to enable you to experience the impossible. Their technology opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences. 
 
 Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate. The Rift is highly anticipated by the gaming community, and there's a lot of interest from developers in building for this platform. We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this. 
 
 But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a courtside seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home. 
 
 This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures. 
 
 These are just some of the potential uses. By working with developers and partners across the industry, together we can build many more. One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people. 
 
 Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can't wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us. 
 
 Here's the press release from Facebook: 
 
 Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Oculus VR, Inc., the leader in immersive virtual reality technology, for a total of approximately $2 billion. This includes$400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock (valued at $1.6 billion based on the average closing price of the 20 trading days preceding March 21, 2014 of $69.35 per share). The agreement also provides for an additional$300 million earn-out in cash and stock based on the achievement of certain milestones. 
 
 Oculus is the leader in immersive virtual reality technology and has already built strong interest among developers, having received more than 75,000 orders for development kits for the company's virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. While the applications for virtual reality technology beyond gaming are in their nascent stages, several industries are already experimenting with the technology, and Facebook plans to extend Oculus' existing advantage in gaming to new verticals, including communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas. Given these broad potential applications, virtual reality technology is a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications platform. 
 
 "Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate." 
 
 "We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world," said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR. "We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it's only just the beginning." 
 
 Oculus will maintain its headquarters in Irvine, CA, and will continue development of the Oculus Rift, its ground-breaking virtual reality platform. 
 
 The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. 
 
 Want more? Here's what it's like using the Oculus Rift: 
 
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– Facebook is going to have to cough up $500 million in real money for unlawfully using another company's virtual reality technology. A jury decided Wednesday that VR pioneer Oculus, which Facebook bought for $2 billion in 2014, infringed copyright and trademarks when it used code from games maker Zenimax to launch its own VR headset, the BBC reports. Zenimax had accused the company of stealing trade secrets, saying Oculus headsets were "primitive" before a former Zenimax employee used his insider knowledge to improve them. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg tells CNBC that the company is "disappointed in certain elements of" the ruling, but Facebook notes that while the jury found the company guilty of copyright infringement, failure to comply with a non-disclosure agreement, and misuse of Oculus trademarks, it did not find it guilty of stealing secrets. She says the $500 million verdict, which Facebook is considering appealing, is "not material to our financials." Reuters reports that Facebook released its latest financial results Wednesday, showing a $3.57 billion profit in the last quarter, up $2 billion year-over-year.