Ocado Group PLC on Friday said it landed a ‘conclusive victory’ in a legal dispute, as judges once again ruled the online grocer did not infringe on AutoStore AS patents.

The International Trade Commission rejected every patent claim made by AutoStore, a warehouse technology systems provider.

In October 2020, Autostore had said it sued and filed complaints in the US and the UK, accusing Ocado’s Smart Platform of infringing Autostore’s patented technology.

Ocado Smart Platform is a storage and picking system used in fulfilment centres. Autostore’s complaint to the ITC originally alleged infringement by Ocado on 33 claims spread across five different patents.

‘All of the 33 claims that originally constituted AutoStore’s complaint to the ITC have now been rejected for a second time, or abandoned by AutoStore. AutoStore’s key cavity bot patents, the UK versions of which are the only patents being asserted against Ocado in the High Court case starting next week, were all found to be invalid. A fourth, unrelated, patent was held not to be infringed,’ Ocado said on Friday.

‘Unusually, the ITC accepted review of the judge’s original decision and in the same notice gave its decision on the merits, which further emphasises the strength of these findings.’

In addition, Ocado said it is continuing to pursue claims of its own against AutoStore, for infringing on the FTSE 100 company’s IP rights in both the US and Europe.

‘Ocado anticipates court determinations injuncting AutoStore and awarding Ocado damages for AutoStore’s infringement of Ocado’s patents,’ the company added.

The Ocado Smart Platform forms part of its Solutions unit, which provides automation technology, distribution and logistics services to grocers.

Ocado shares were 4.5% higher at 1,235.50 pence each in London on Friday morning.

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