Ocado prevails in ITC patent dispute with AutoStore
Online grocery group Ocado’s robotics products do not infringe on any valid AutoStore patents, a US International Trade Commission (ITC) chief judge has ruled.
In a media statement released yesterday, December 14, Ocado revealed that it had prevailed in a lawsuit brought before the ITC by e-grocer rival AutoStore in October 2020.
While the ruling is currently unavailable on the ITC website, Ocado claims that the ITC found three of the four AutoStore patents levied against Ocado invalid and the fourth invalid.
A fifth AutoStore patent was originally meant to be litigated but was abandoned by AutoStore the night before the trial, according to Ocado.
AutoStore and Ocado have traded wins at the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the English High Court over the past few months as the two companies seek to invalidate the others warehouse robotics patents.
The dispute at the ITC saw AutoStore request that the commission issue permanent cease and desist orders prohibiting Ocado from importing automated storage-retrieval systems or robots that infringe five of its patents.
An Ocado spokesperson stated: “We have consistently stated that Ocado does not infringe any valid AutoStore IP, and we are pleased that the judge has now agreed with us. This was a misconceived attempt by AutoStore to interfere with our business in the United States. We intend vigorously to continue our infringement claims against AutoStore in the United States and Europe.”
Ocado hopes to receive court determinations injuncting AutoStore and awarding Ocado damages for infringing Ocado’s patents in the coming months.
Ocado and AutoStore represent two of the largest players in the emerging automated storage and retrieval market. Currently, the two are embroiled in patent infringement lawsuits across the UK, US and Germany.
Most recently, Ocado filed complaints against AutoStore’s European subsidiaries in Munich, targeting its Blackline robot product for infringement of Ocado utility model rights and rejected AutoStore’s bid to ban the sale of Ocado’s robotics in the US.
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