AutoStore Sues British Online Supermarket Store Ocado Over Tech Patents
AutoStore has sued the British online supermarket group, Ocado for allegedly infringing its tech patents. The robotics company said that it has filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom.
AutoStore is a Norway-based provider of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). The company has claimed that its storage system and robots are the foundation on which the “Ocado Smart Platform” (OSP) technology was built. The same OSP technology forms the basis of its business today, informs Autostore.
AutoStore seeks injunctive relief against Ocado Group
The company filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom against e-grocer Ocado Group Plc. In the U.S. AutoStore filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission and sought an exclusion order preventing the importation of Ocado’s infringing products into the United States. The other complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeking an injunction against, among other things, the manufacture, sale, and use of Ocado’s infringing products, as well as monetary damages for Ocado’s past and ongoing infringement of AutoStore’s intellectual property. In the U.K. AutoStore filed a complaint in the High Court of England and Wales, seeking, among other remedies, an injunction barring the manufacture, sale and use of Ocado’s infringing products in the United Kingdom, as well as monetary damages.
Ocado has a billion dollars stock market valuation
Ocado, an online supermarket group holds only a 1.7% share of Britain's grocery market. However, it became the most valuable retailer on Britain’s stock market. The retailer owes its 20 billion pounds valuation to its state-of-the-art technology for robotically operated warehouses. The technology has helped the Ocado to secure partnership deals with supermarket chains around the world and has been a significant contributor in underpinning its stock market valuation.
AutoStore CEO and President Karl Johan Lier said in a statement, “Our ownership of the technology at the heart of Ocado’s warehousing system is clear."
He also added, “We will not tolerate Ocado’s continued infringement of our intellectual property rights in its effort to boost its growth and attempt to transform itself into a global technology company. ”
Ocado responds to AutoStore's patent infringement claims
Responding to the issues, Ocado said, “We are not aware of any infringement of valid AutoStore rights and of course we will investigate any claims once we receive further details." The retail giant also claimed that it had its own patents protecting the use of its systems and would investigate whether AutoStore has, or intends to infringe those. It said, “We will always vigorously protect our intellectual property.”
