ZeniMax is trying to block games from working on Facebook's Oculus virtual reality headset

Video game publisher ZeniMax, which earlier this month won a $500 million verdict against Facebook's Oculus virtual reality unit for unauthorized copying of computer code, has asked a federal judge to block Oculus from using the code in its products.

ZeniMax made its request in papers filed on Thursday in federal court in Dallas.

It was the same court where jurors on February 1 issued the verdict against Oculus and its founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe.

The injunction could limit the number of games available for sale for Oculus' Rift VR headset. Such a move would be a blow to a product still in its infancy and on which Facebook has made a big bet for the future.

Oculus has already made the disputed code available to companies that develop games, and it is embedded in many of the games available for use on the Rift, as well as Samsung Electronics Co's Gear VR, a smartphone-compatible device developed through a partnership with Oculus.

ZeniMax hinted that it may seek to halt further sales of the Oculus Rift with further litigation after it was awarded $500 million in damages earlier this month. The game publisher was originally seeking a $2 billion verdict against Oculus for allegedly stealing its trade secrets, and up to another $4 billion in damages.

Facebook has said that it plans to appeal the court's verdict, and that "our commitment to the long-term success of VR remains the same." Spokespeople for ZeniMax and Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on Friday.