Last checked at 30 Mar 2023 17:11
This Announcement contains Inside Information
Ocado Group plc
30 March 2023
Total Victory for Ocado in UK High Court proceedings;
Autostore loses on all Counts.
Judgment was handed down after close of business today. Ocado has comprehensively won the patent infringement suit brought by AutoStore at the UK High Court. His Honour Judge Hacon held that the Autostore patents were invalid and, in any event, Ocado did not infringe them.
Autostore had originally asserted six patents against Ocado in October 2020. Of these six patents, two were invalidated by the European Patent Office before judgment was handed down, two were withdrawn by Autostore shortly before the hearing started and the remaining two patents were invalidated by Judge Hacon in today's judgment. Judge Hacon decided that even if he had not invalidated these remaining patents, Ocado's OSP did not infringe them - and that Ocado's bots also did not infringe the patents that Autostore had withdrawn from the case.
This decision follows Ocado's victory over AutoStore in the International Trade Commission in the USA last year. Ocado's claims against AutoStore for infringing Ocado's IP are continuing in Germany and New Hampshire, USA.
Contacts
● Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer, on 01707 228 000
● Neill Abrams, Group General Counsel, on 01707 228 000
● David Shriver, Chief Reputation Officer, on 01707 228 000
● Graeme Wilson at Tulchan Communications, on 020 7353 4200
Person responsible for arranging release of this announcement:
Neill Abrams
Company Secretary
Ocado Group plc
Buildings One & Two
Trident Place
Mosquito Way
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 9UL
Fax: +44 (0)1707 227 997
email: company.secretary@ocado.com
Ocado Group plc LEI: 213800LO8F61YB8MBC74