Ocado vs AutoStore patent infringement and antitrust claims
Ocado is defending the integrity of its Intellectual Property portfolio through litigation in the UK, USA and Germany. The actions underway before the UK High Court, the US International Trade Commission, the US District Court, and the German district courts of Mannheim and Munich are primarily concerned with patent infringement and breaches of competition law involving AutoStore, a storage system company based in Norway.
In late 2020 AutoStore launched a major marketing campaign about two new products, its Blackline robot and a software product called Router. Both of these products infringe Ocado's patented intellectual property. Despite this, AutoStore filed a claim for patent infringement against Ocado and two of our suppliers. Ocado filed a defence in the UK High Court in December 2020 stating that no infringement of AutoStore patents had occurred and in any case, those asserted AutoStore patents were invalid. Ocado had been using that technology in the UK since before AutoStore had filed their patents, and so our continued use of that technology is permitted. One of those asserted AutoStore patents has since been revoked by the European Patent Office. AutoStore also filed a very similar claim in the US International Trade Commission, which Ocado is also defending.
In January 2021, Ocado took action against AutoStore in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire for infringement of several Ocado patents relating to Robot and Storage System technology. This claim seeks to prevent AutoStore from continuing to use its Blackline robot and its Router software system, as well as certain other aspects of its storage system that infringe Ocado's patents.
Ocado then filed an anti-trust complaint against AutoStore in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in February 2021. This claim states that there is clear evidence that AutoStore deliberately misled the US Patent and Trade Mark Office in order to obtain granted patents, and then subsequently asserted these patents against Ocado in order to stifle competition in the USA. Damages awarded for this type of antitrust violation are automatically trebled. In addition, Ocado has filed applications at the US Patent and Trademark Appeal Board for Reviews of all of AutoStore's asserted patents; the PTAB has the power to revoke all of these patents.
Most recently, Ocado filed a complaint in March 2021 against AutoStore’s Norwegian, German and Polish companies before the District Courts of Mannheim and Munich in Germany for the Blackline robot's infringement of certain Ocado Utility Model IP Rights. These rights are based on Ocado intellectual property applications filed in 2014.
Ocado’s position
Ocado is an innovation-led business, and our intellectual property is our greatest asset. As a leader in technology and engineering solutions, we have over 950 patent applications and granted patents that protect our proprietary assets that make up the Ocado Smart Platform. Ocado does not infringe any valid AutoStore rights and we are confident that all the claims against us will not be upheld.
We are entirely confident in the integrity of our Intellectual Property portfolio and the disciplined approach we have taken to build our capabilities and the Ocado Smart Platform over the past twenty years. We will always vigorously protect our intellectual property.