Tech and online retail giant Ocado is to be paid £200m by robotics company Autostore after the pair settled a patent row.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in their entirety but Ocado said it would receive the money in 24 monthly instalments starting this month.
Ocado said there was a “cross-license of certain patents” between the pair whereby each has “complete freedom to access and use technology covered by each other’s pre-2020 patents”.
They can continue to use and market their own existing products “without challenge or infringement” of post-2020 patents and Autostore “is not permitted to make or use a single-space cavity robot in any jurisdiction where Ocado has patent protection”.
Ocado Group chief executive Tim Steiner said: “I am pleased that we have worked together to resolve our differences and can now continue to focus on what we do best – innovating, developing and enabling partners to access world-beating technology”.
Autostore chief executive Mats Hovland Vikse said: “We are glad to have achieved a resolution that gives both companies the opportunity and freedom to commercialise our extensive patent portfolios.”
The dispute dates back to 2020.
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