Strava, the California-based exercise tracking and social networking platform, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Colorado, accusing Garmin Ltd. of infringing three patents tied to its segment and heatmap technology. According to the complaint, the dispute arises from a 2015 agreement that allowed Strava Live segments on Garmin devices. Strava alleges that Garmin later expanded its own “Segments” feature on Garmin Connect using knowledge gained from that collaboration. The suit seeks an injunction halting the sale of Garmin’s fitness watches and cycling computers that utilize the disputed features, along with damages and legal fees.
Suunto targets smartwatch features
Meanwhile, the Finnish sports technology company Suunto filed a separate suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, accusing Garmin of infringing five patents covering functions such as golf swing tracking, respiratory rate measurement and antenna design within models like the Marq, Fenix and Forerunner. Suunto is seeking findings of infringement, damages, attorneys’ fees and an injunction.
Industry impact
Both lawsuits target core functions of Garmin’s popular outdoor and fitness devices, potentially threatening key features of its wearables and cycling computers. If successful, the suits could limit Garmin’s ability to offer specific performance-tracking tools or force it to enter into licensing agreements. Together, the actions highlight rising competition and intellectual property tensions in the crowded sports tech market, where GPS, health metrics and data visualization are increasingly standard across brands.
