Ocado was originally an AutoStore client and then copied AutoStore's warehouse automation solution.
Based on the timeline of events, they basically copied AutoStore. I'm actually curious what the next lawsuits will bring, but i don't think it's going to be in favor for Ocado.
There was already a preliminary result and while Ocado says it's a win, i think that's a deceiving statement if you actually care to read it.
> The Norwegian company claimed in U.S. filings that Ocado infringed four patents for the robotic systems. The judge found that, while Ocado used technology covered by three of the patents, those claims failed to fulfill requirements of clearly describing the invention in a way that others can understand.
It's a huge win for Ocado. The first line of defense when charged with patent infringement is to invalidate the patents themselves. No patents, no patent infringement. So it doesn't matter if they're doing the same thing if they can get the patents invalidated, which it sounds like is the case here.
It isn't a definite conclusion. It still needs to appear before a full committee.
This temporarily one for an injunction did conclude that Ocado is using 3/4 patents. But the injuction was not granted.
Note: not an expert, but I'll probably ask one in patent law for more information to one to check if I'm correct. Because I have some stocks in AutoStore and that included rudimentary analysis of AutoStore vs. Ocado lawsuits without going deep into the actual patents.
Based on the timeline of events, they basically copied AutoStore. I'm actually curious what the next lawsuits will bring, but i don't think it's going to be in favor for Ocado.
There was already a preliminary result and while Ocado says it's a win, i think that's a deceiving statement if you actually care to read it.
https://archive.is/LuiMp
> The Norwegian company claimed in U.S. filings that Ocado infringed four patents for the robotic systems. The judge found that, while Ocado used technology covered by three of the patents, those claims failed to fulfill requirements of clearly describing the invention in a way that others can understand.
We'll see how it goes.