Ocado claims 'total victory' as AutoStore patent infringement case is dismissed

Online grocer Ocado “​​comprehensively won” a high court patent infringement suit brought by Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore.

The claims were dismissed by Judge Richard Hacon after the case was heard in March and April 2022.

Ocado and AutoStore are two of the largest rivals in retail technology, and are facing off in multiple locations around the world to protect their intellectual property.

This particular case revolved around the use of robots in grocery delivery services.

A statement from Ocado said that six patents had been asserted against the firm by AutoStore in October 2022. Two of these were invalidated by the European Patent Office, two were withdrawn by AutoStore shortly before the hearing started with the remaining two being invalidated by Judge Hacon at the UK High Court.

The statement added: “Judge Hacon decided that even if he had not invalidated these remaining patents, Ocado's OSP did not infringe them - and that Ocado's bots also did not infringe the patents that Autostore had withdrawn from the case.”

Reacting to the judgement, a spokesperson for AutoStore said that the company “disagrees with the Court’s decision, especially given that the Technical Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office upheld one of the patents in issue as valid just a few weeks ago.”

Ocado won a similar case against AutoStore in the International Trade Commission in the US last year. The London-based firm said that it will continue its ongoing claims against AutoStore in Germany and the US, and that it would apply to the High Court to recover legal costs.

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