AutoStore and Ocado resolve patent litigation claims with settlement agreement

(Reuters) – Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore will pay 200 million pounds ($257.1 million) to British online supermarket group Ocado as part of a deal between the warehouse tech pioneers to settle all outstanding patent litigation claims, they said on Saturday.

Both AutoStore and Ocado license their technology to retailers all over the world and the companies had engaged in numerous legal battles in different countries to defend their intellectual property.

Under the deal announced in a statement on Saturday, all the patent litigation claims will be withdrawn globally and both firms can continue to use and market all their own existing products without challenge.

AutoStore will pay the 200 million pounds to Ocado in instalments over a two-year period, according to the statement. It did not give a reason for the agreed payment.

The agreement does not allow for collaboration, technology support between the companies, or access to actual products, the statement said.

It does, however, grant access to both the companies to certain portions of each other’s patent portfolios for them to use or manufacture their own products.

($1 = 0.7779 pounds)

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Jason Neely and Helen Popper)