Ocado Wins Ruling in AutoStore Fight Over Robot Warehouses (2)

Ocado Group Plc won the first round in a patent-infringement case filed by rival AutoStore Holdings Ltd. that could affect the expansion of the U.K. company’s robotic warehouse business into the U.S. online grocery market.

Three AutoStore patents are invalid, while Ocado doesn’t infringe a fourth, U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Charles Bullock said in a notice posted on the agency’s website. The judge’s findings of no violation of AutoStore patent rights are subject to review by the commission, which has the power to block or limit the types of robots that Ocado can bring into the U.S. The commission …