Protecting innovation and safeguarding Ocado Group’s competitive edge: exploring the role of Intellectual Property with Lucy Wojcik

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Lucy Wojcik is the Chief IP Counsel at Ocado Group, a global technology business operating in online grocery and logistics. She is a Chartered UK Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and IAM IP Strategy 300 member. In 2024, she was awarded In-House IP Leader of the Year at the Managing IP EMEA Awards, and she was named among the 50 most influential people in IP by Managing IP.

With extensive experience in intellectual property (IP) strategy and leadership, Lucy and her team play a crucial role in securing Ocado’s competitive advantage, protecting a wide range of technological assets, from cutting-edge hardware design and developments and robotics to innovative ecommerce software. 

In this interview, we explore how Ocado’s IP contributes value from the balance sheet to maintaining and improving the business’ competitive edge for the future.

Lucy, can you tell us a bit about your role and the role of Ocado's intellectual property team?

I joined Ocado in 2014 as Ocado’s first IP professional and I’m now Chief IP Officer, heading up our IP team, globally. Our team’s role is to protect Ocado’s valuable innovations and assets through IP. The way we do this takes many forms from patents on our proprietary technology to the trademarks protecting our brand, copyright and trade secrets. Our IP portfolio and IP strategy support the business's strategy and interests.

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First things first, why is creating our own technology and protecting it via IP rights so important for a company like Ocado Group? Why not just buy technology directly from the market?

Our heritage is rooted in online grocery. From the beginning, we recognised that off-the-shelf solutions weren’t suitable for the unique demands of this sector. It is one of the most challenging sectors to automate due to tight margins, demanding conditions, fast turnaround times and short-shelf lives. We needed to create solutions that could deal with large item orders, three temperature zones and demanding customer expectations. To become the leaders in this field, we realised we needed to drive technological innovation and develop something that didn't yet exist.

By developing our own technology to tackle the challenges faced specifically in grocery, we have created tools that effectively address the most challenging aspects of fulfilment. A prime example is our proprietary robotic picking system or “On-grid Robotic Pick”, which can pick and pack a wide variety of items at scale. Owning this technology allows us to consistently innovate and maintain a competitive advantage in the long term. This technology can now be applied to all areas of online retail - not just grocery.

What makes Ocado Group’s approach to IP different and why is it important for an innovative tech business? 

In common with most IP teams, we recognise that intellectual property rights (IP) are valuable business assets for Ocado Group, extending beyond the metrics of the balance sheet. However, what makes the Ocado IP team different is the exposure we have within the business. The IP team drives an understanding within the business of the importance of IP. Whether that is ensuring discussions with potential partners happen under NDAs or reviewing publications prior to disclosure all the way to carefully monitoring access to our sites globally.

Of course, we have also carefully created a portfolio of over 3,000 patent applications and granted patents in 10 years. This allows us to effectively protect the proprietary technology of our unique business model and investments. It enables us to compete strategically while safeguarding our distinctive model in collaboration with our international partners.

Our robust IP portfolio also facilitates growth. It positions us as a technology leader, allowing us to introduce our innovative technology to new markets and industries, such as through Ocado Intelligent Automation in the logistics sector.

‍If you look at our IP estate versus competitors in the global marketplace, what do you think sets Ocado's IP approach apart?

In the grocery sector, our IP portfolio is ten times larger than the combined portfolios of all UK grocers. We currently have over 1,800 pending patent applications and nearly 1,300 granted patents. We are proud to be among the top 50 filers of patent cases at the UK Patent Office in the past year, which reflects the dedication and hard work of the team.

One reason for this significant difference is that our intellectual property portfolio is much broader than that of grocery retailers. We have a well-curated and comprehensive technology portfolio that includes IP rights to innovations used in online grocery markets and the logistics industry. 

For a tech company focused on logistics, our IP portfolio is broad, as mentioned previously, our IP portfolio covers vision systems, end effectors for our robotic arms to the software and algorithms we employ to orchestrate our bots. We also have patents and applications for the use of our systems in other fields such as vertical farming, autonomous delivery vehicles and shipping container ports. 

The technological advancement that has led to one of the most valuable IP assets is the single space bot concept - this is where our robots occupy only a single space on the tracks in our cubic storage system. This is a game-changer in efficiency for both online grocery and non-grocery markets, where there are systems where the robots occupy two spaces. This can limit the routing options for the bots on the grid, causing congestion.  This is just one way that having a single space bot makes the system more efficient.

We have exclusive rights to the single space bot concept which was determined after a high-profile litigation process with Autostore between 2020 and 2023. Although Ocado was originally the defendant in the action at the start, the litigation was settled favourably to Ocado with a balancing payment of £200m payable to Ocado. During the litigation process, Ocado prevailed in actions before the US International Trade Commission, the UK High Court, and the German District Courts which brought to light our extensive IP expertise and underlined the uniqueness of our technology. 

Another great example is our On Grid Robotic Pick (OGRP) technology which is protected by a suite of patents and patent applications around the world including everything from the concept of picking directly from the top of our grid structure to the vision systems enabling the picking and the end-effectors that engage with the inventory in the storage locations. OGRP is a game-changer for efficiency in the online grocery and logistics sectors - enabling full automation of picking, packing and organisation of stock within fulfilment centres. 

Our IP isn’t just directed to hardware, it covers unique software from the demand forecasting algorithms to the AI air traffic control system we use to orchestrate our bots. One recent development in the software space is what we internally call “Swift Router”.  This is an innovation that will enable us to include short lead-time orders (where a customer has only placed the order within the preceding 2-6 hours) with longer lead-time orders placed days or weeks before, on single delivery routes for optimal efficiency. 

Ocado's key partners are all in the grocery space, which is not well-known as an IP-rich sector. Why do you think this is?

The Online Grocery Sector is often characterised by commodification or innovation in isolated aspects of the supply chain. Traditionally grocers adapt their operations at core points using existing technologies or third-party solutions - such as mobile apps, warehouse robotics, or vehicle routing. 

However, Ocado takes a unique approach by emphasising end-to-end efficiency across the entire grocery supply chain, drawing on over 20 years of experience in the grocery sector and being one of the first movers to tackle the challenge head-on. Unlike many logistics companies, Ocado grew from a retail company and now is a 50% owner of an online grocery retailer so we actually work with and run the technology we develop - with innovation and IP at the core of our strategy from the ground up. 

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How is Ocado’s IP team organised, and how do you stay agile in a fast-moving innovative environment?

Many businesses have central IP teams; however, these teams are often disconnected from the day-to-day operations of the business. Whilst the IP team is part of the Business Integrity Group, working closely with our Legal colleagues, we have ten qualified patent attorneys who are embedded throughout the business. Each of our attorneys has a background in engineering or science. 

Our team is closely integrated with the teams working in all aspects of our R&D. This collaboration allows us to participate in steering groups, product meetings and development processes, and discussions directly with the teams. By working together with these teams we can ensure we are protecting the solutions created by our amazing engineering talent. 

This close integration across the business allows us to understand the business and create intellectual property assets that are strategically relevant and support our overall business strategy and priorities as they evolve. It means we aren’t providing IP advice from an ivory tower - we are part of the teams delivering the innovations. 

Additionally, our multi-disciplinary team is flexible and adapts to the projects we need to support, allowing us to be responsive as the business grows. When confronted with complex IP situations, we can also leverage niche expertise in a cost-effective manner via our legal and governance colleagues within the LBI team. By maintaining this agility, we can ensure our focus remains on achieving the right commercial outcomes as well as the optimum IP results.

How is your IP strategy evolving to support the business in the future?

We are a dynamic company that continually seeks to disrupt itself. We don’t rest on our laurels, and we’re always looking for the next best thing. We recognise the fast pace of change and are constantly striving to improve as a business and work in the direction of travel we need for the future, alongside what is needed today.

Protecting our intellectual property involves more than just patenting our technology. This is especially important today, given the emergence of new technologies and market shifts that require us to stay proactive. Safeguarding our unique advantages, or our "secret sauce," involves not only monitoring emerging trends to stay ahead of the competition but also collaborating with our internal teams. This includes providing solid training and creating processes related to new tools, social media, and participation in external conferences.

It’s also essential for us to safeguard ideas before we even decide to pursue them. By working directly with our teams we have better visibility into the business's plans and market landscape, enabling us to be proactive in supporting blue-sky projects before they come to fruition, keeping the business at the forefront of innovation. 

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