Fresh Patent Infringement Suit against Ocado in UK

Fresh Patent Infringement Suit against Ocado in UK

Another lawsuit has been filed against Ocado Group Plc. by Auto Store Technology AS which claims it is the creator and rightful owner of some of the patents of the UK online delivery company.

Ownership of patents already secured by Ocado for its "smart platform" technology is being sought by Auto Store, a Norwegian manufacturer of storage and retrieval systems. An action has been filed in the Intellectual Property Office of the UK by Auto Store.

Last month, complaints were filed in British and American courts by Auto Store claiming that Ocado was infringing its patents and intellectual property. To stop Ocado and its UK partner Tharsus Group from expanding in the two countries, Auto Store sought injunctions and even asked for an order from the US International Trade Commission stopping the import of Ocado's "infringing products".

According to Auto Store, its warehouse system, particularly the robot moving and lifting system, is the basis of Ocado's technology. Auto Store claimed that when Ocado was its customer in 2012, it "received substantial technical information and know how" from Auto Store on a "good faith basis" but later filed its own patents and named Ocado CEO Tim Steiner as an inventor. What Auto Store wants is an order affirming that it is the "true owner of the patents" and a declaration that Steiner and other Ocado managers cannot be named as inventors.

Karl Johan Lier, Auto Store CEO and President, reportedly said, "Ocado took advantage of being our customer and having access to Auto Store's market leading technology and then attempted to assert ownership over what it had learned from Auto Store by filing its own patents."

Meanwhile, Ocado spokesperson Jessica Reid reportedly said, "These inventions are ours and we will continue to defend our intellectual property by whatever means necessary. Ocado is entirely confident in the integrity of its intellectual property portfolio and the disciplined approach we have taken to building our capabilities and the Ocado Smart Platform over the past 20 years."

Founded in 1996, Auto Store's technology is used in large warehouses to organize storage and prepare orders for customers across healthcare, aviation and retail.