SHARES in Ocado were trading down 7% today after Norway’s AutoStore claimed a victory in one of the rival warehouse robot-makers’ several ongoing legal battles.
AutoStore issued a statement to the markets saying that a judge in Munich had halted proceedings brought by Ocado to prevent the sale of one of its robots in Germany.
"The Munich District Court yesterday stayed proceedings brought by Ocado for orders blocking the sale of AutoStore’s B1 robot in Germany, noting that Ocado’s utility model IP rights in the action were likely to be invalid," AutoStore said.
"The court’s view was that Ocado were trying to claim technology they had not invented," it added.
The statement caused Softbank-backed AutoStore’s shares to lift by as much as 18% in Oslo.
Ocado, however, countered the claim saying that by saying the Norwegian company had given a partial and misleading account of the proceedings. It described the Munich court’s action as merely "procedural".
"The infringement action against AutoStore continues but must await confirmation of the validity of Ocado’s Utility Model right, which will be considered by a different court as is standard in Germany," it said.
The Munich court told Reuters that while it shared AutoStore’s concerns, the Norwegian firm had not accurately portrayed the court’s views.
Specifically, it said that Autostore’s statement that “The court’s view was that Ocado were trying to claim technology they had not invented” was not correct.
The two companies have been locked in a series of highly technical legal battles for years over intellectual property rights around various aspects of the technology behind robots used to fulfil online orders in retail warehouses.
The US threw out an AutoStore claim last month. A separate action is currently before London’s High Court.
Shares in AutoStore initially spiked 18% but those gains reversed as the tussle played out, to dip 3.5% to 22.5KR (178p).
Ocado — which this week unveiled a new generation of robotic arms to enable cheaper, quicker deliveries — was off 7% to 1451p.
AutoStore’s shares have fallen sharply since it went public in October, and are 47% below their November high.
