Call the cops! Patent infringement drama at LogiMAT
Ocado filed a German court injunction against Brightpick’s GridPicker system alleging patent infringement to prevent its display at the leading European logistics show.
By Simon Duddy, Editor, Logistics Matters
THIS WAS enforced on Day One of the show with police in attendance.
Brightpick opted to drape its stand in white sheets with slogans daubed on them reading ‘So good they don’t want you to see it’ and ‘Why so afraid?’.
In a statement, Brightpick CEO Jan Zizka said: “This is how you know you launched something truly disruptive.
“Shortly after midnight the day before LogiMAT, and just six days after unveiling our new Gridpicker solution, Brightpick received a warning letter from Ocado alleging infringement of one of their patents.
“After giving us just 13 hours to respond (including the night), Ocado sought a preliminary injunction in Germany.
“Yesterday, the Regional Court of Düsseldorf issued that injunction on an expedited basis and without our involvement or an oral hearing.
“Despite immediately complying with it and suspending the presentation of Gridpicker at LogiMAT, Ocado representatives chose to bring police officers to our booth to enforce the order.
“We believe Ocado’s allegations are spurious and intend to challenge the claims to the fullest extent.
“This is an interim measure, not a final decision. The order applies to Germany only.
“We remain fully committed to our customers and to bringing Gridpicker to market globally.”
Ocado said it would not share an on-the-record quote as this stage as it continues to engage with Brightpick on the issue.
Ocado is a global IP and technology leader in logistics and retail, with almost 4,000 patents filed and granted.
Ocado is known for robust patent protection. In July 2023, AutoStore and Ocado settled a three-year global patent dispute over warehouse robotics. AutoStore agreed to pay Ocado £200 million in instalments over two years, while both companies agreed to a cross-license of their respective patents, allowing both to continue using and marketing their technology without further litigation.
Editor’s Comment: Drama and distraction
I have no idea if the claim has legal merit, but it concerns me that Ocado is launching another legal battle. Meanwhile, its primary competitor AutoStore is just getting on with it and making its offering more rich and compelling. To me, this feels like a mis-step from Ocado, it is focusing on a small competitor and devoting resources to legal issues that would be better used trying to match and beat AutoStore in terms of developing software, add-ons and ecosystem around the grid to make that Ocado system more compelling to end users and partners. In my opinion, the real battleground for Ocado is with AutoStore not Brightpick, and it won’t be fought in court, it will hinge on how innovative Ocado can be beyond the grid and how effectively it can recruit integrator partners.
