Autostore Technology AS v Ocado Group PLC & Ors.

Autostore Technology AS v Ocado Group PLC & Ors.

AutoStore's patents EP 794 and EP 027 are invalid due to prior disclosures in Russia not subject to obligation of confidence under Russian law; Ocado's robots and systems do not infringe the patents on a normal or purposive construction; Ocado is entitled to declarations of non-infringement for its robots and systems in relation to all patents in issue.

Parties
Claimant: Autostore Technology AS; Defendant: Ocado Group PLC; Defendant: Ocado Retail Limited; Defendant: Ocado Solutions Limited; Defendant: Ocado Innovation Limited; Defendant: Ocado Operating Limited; Defendant: Tharsus Group Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 March 2023
Procedural Posture
Patent Infringement and Validity Dispute / Final Judgment After Split Trial
Outcome
Patents EP 794 and EP 027 declared invalid; declarations of non-infringement granted to Ocado for all robots and systems in issue; no infringement found.
Legal Topics
Patent Infringement, Patent Validity, Novelty, Inventive Step, Obligation of Confidence, Foreign Law Application, Declarations of Non Infringement
Intellectual Property Patent Law Patent Infringement Patent Validity Novelty Inventive Step Obligation of Confidence Foreign Law Application +1 more

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Parties

Autostore Technology AS

Claimant

Ocado Group PLC

Defendant

Ocado Retail Limited

Defendant

Ocado Solutions Limited

Defendant

Ocado Innovation Limited

Defendant

Ocado Operating Limited

Defendant

Tharsus Group Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Patent Infringement and Validity Dispute / Final Judgment After Split Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Ocado's robots and systems infringe AutoStore's patents EP 794, EP 027, EP 824, EP 481
  2. 2 Whether the patents are invalid due to prior disclosures
  3. 3 Whether the patents lack inventive step over prior art

Ratio Decidendi

AutoStore's patents EP 794 and EP 027 are invalid due to prior disclosures in Russia not subject to obligation of confidence under Russian law; Ocado's robots and systems do not infringe the patents on a normal or purposive construction; Ocado is entitled to declarations of non-infringement for its robots and systems in relation to all patents in issue.

Court Disposition

Patents EP 794 and EP 027 declared invalid; declarations of non-infringement granted to Ocado for all robots and systems in issue; no infringement found.

Orders

  • EP 794 and EP 027 declared invalid for lack of novelty and/or inventive step.
  • Declarations of non-infringement granted to Ocado for Production Bots (with and without cladding), Mod 4A, 400 and 500 Bots, and OSP system in relation to EP 794, EP 027, EP 824, and EP 481.