Figure 1 is from Ocado Patent #US9796080. | Image source: United States Patent and Trademark Office

AutoStore lost a patent infringement lawsuit against Ocado Group, a British online supermarket group. Both companies have developed automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) with similar operating principles. The Norwegian company AutoStore filed a lawsuit with the International Trade Commission (ITC).

US International Trade Commission Judge Charles Block stated that the three AutoStore patents are invalid and Ocado has not infringed the fourth patent. AutoStore abandoned its claim for the fifth patent the night before the trial. Judge Block found that Ocado did not infringe AutoStore's patent rights. AutoStore plans to challenge the decision before the full committee, which will review the findings and issue a final ruling in April 2022.

"Today's decision has no impact on AutoStore's ability to sell its products in the United States or globally," AutoStore said in a statement.

Judge Block also rejected AutoStore's request to prohibit Ocado and its partners from manufacturing and selling related products and importing them into the United States. We have now agreed with us," an Ocado spokesperson said.

Ocado said it will continue to file a lawsuit against AutoStore's patent infringement in Europe and the United States

The story begins with AutoStore suing Ocado for patent infringement in the United States in October 2020. In early 2021, Ocado counterclaimed AutoStore to protect its intellectual property rights in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. When Ocado signed a distribution agreement with American grocer Kroger, AutoStore may have caused a deadlock.

AutoStore filed a petition in the U.S. court in October 2020 requesting the review of items 1-23 (IPR2021-00798) of Ocado's U.S. Patent No. 9,796,080 ("'080 Patent"). The '080 Ocado patent was filed on June 12, 2014 and granted on October 17, 2017. The '080 patent describes a system for managing shipping containers. The system includes a storage and retrieval system consisting of a structural frame that defines a grid of storage locations configured to receive multiple containers.

AutoStore lost its multi-party review request for Ocado. Multi-party review is a new trial procedure conducted in the U.S. Patent Board. It is based on only §§ 102 or 103 and is based only on existing technology. The patentability of one or more claims in the review patent includes: Patent or printed publication.

ASRS systems from AutoStore (left) and Ocado.

As of press time, Ocado has a market value of $16 billion and has become one of the world's largest grocery suppliers.

AutoStore will be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange IPO on October 20, 2021. It is one of the leading ASRS suppliers in the market, with a current market value of US$15 billion. Therefore, both companies face many stakes. AutoStore's customers include British retail chain Asda, Best Buy in the United States and Lufthansa in Germany.

AutoStore’s revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was $84.7 million. Its revenue increased by 95% from the US$43.4 million in the third quarter of 2020. Starting in 2021, AutoStore is expected to have a revenue target of 300 million U.S. dollars by the end of this year. So far, it has brought in $234.4 million, making it hopeful that it will achieve its goal by the end of the year. In its earnings report, AutoStore reported an order revenue of $140 million in the third quarter, bringing its full-year order revenue to $422.5 million.

Now that AutoStore is a public company, it needs to list any litigation costs for its shareholders. The company released a document stating that AutoStore expects litigation costs to be between US$1.5 and 20 million.

Both companies' ASRS systems use similar storage and retrieval principles. Items are stored in trash bins stacked in a grid and retrieved by mobile robots from above the stack. It is not clear where the differences between the solutions are.

As this story develops, the robot report will continue to follow this story.

Mike Oitzman is the editor of the WTWH Robotics Group and the founder of the Mobile Robotics Guide. Oitzman is a veteran in the robotics industry and has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, sales and product management positions in a number of high-tech companies. You can reach him through [Email Protection]

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