Strava has filed a lawsuit against Garmin.
The complaint, submitted to the U.S. District Court of Colorado on Sept. 30, alleges that Garmin infringed on Strava’s patents, according to The Verge.
Strava Garmin Lawsuit
The patents in question cover segments and heatmaps, reports The Verge. Segments allow athletes to compare performance times on specific routes. Heatmaps highlight popular areas for running or cycling. Strava claims that Garmin expanded these features beyond the permitted agreement, creating competing products on the Garmin Connect platform and Garmin devices.
A permanent injunction has been requested. Strava wants Garmin to be blocked from selling products that include these features. This would affect most Garmin devices, including Edge bike computers and Forerunner, Fenix, and Epix smartwatches, notes The Verge. Strava argues that financial compensation alone would not address the alleged infringement.
The lawsuit comes as a surprise to many in the fitness tech world. Garmin and Strava have long been partners, sharing integrations between their platforms, as The Verge notes. According to Strava’s 2024 trend report, Forerunner was even cited as one of the most popular smartwatches among Strava users worldwide.
The patents themselves date back several years. Strava’s segment feature patent was filed in 2011 and granted in 2015, as The Verge reports. Garmin introduced its own segments feature with the Edge 1000 cycle computer in 2014, the outlet notes.
The Master Cooperation Agreement signed in 2015 allowed Strava Live Segments to be used on Garmin devices, according to The Verge. Strava claims that Garmin’s subsequent use of the technology violated the terms of this agreement.
Additional Strava patents also cover heatmap and route suggestion features. One patent, filed in 2014 and granted in 2016, protects activity heatmaps. Another patent, filed in 2016 and granted in 2017, focuses on popularity-based routing. The Verge reports that Garmin introduced heatmaps to Garmin Connect in 2013, before some of the patents were granted.
A Strava spokesperson told The Verge that Garmin received limited permission to implement Strava Segments. However, the features were allegedly studied and reproduced as Garmin products. Attempts to resolve the issue privately failed, prompting the lawsuit. Garmin has not responded to requests for comment.
