Ocado wins £200m payout over patent battle

Ocado has won a £200m settlement from Autostore to put to an end the company’s global patent dispute.

A settlement was reached to avoid further litigation and as a result Ocado retains exclusive rights to the Single Space Robot.

Ocado will receive the payout from Autostore in instalments across two years and the agreement has seen its stock price jump 8%.

Both companies licence their robot technology to retailers across the world and the settlement allows them to continue doing so without dispute.

The agreement gives both companies access to parts of each other’s patent portfolios for them to use or develop their own products.

However, it does not provide for collaboration or technology assistance between the companies or access to actual products.

The rest of the settlement agreement remains confidential between the two parties.

Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado, said: “I am pleased we have been able to settle the disputes in a constructive and collaborative manner. We can now each move forward and concentrate on providing our partners with world beating technology.”

Mats Hovland Vikse, CEO of Autostore, added: “We are glad to have achieved a resolution that gives both companies opportunity and freedom to commercialise our extensive patent portfolios. This settlement resolves our differences and allows us to continue focusing on our respective business goals.”