Strava and Suunto sue Garmin over patent infringement

Strava and Suunto have separately filed patent lawsuits against Garmin this month, accusing the fitness-device maker of infringing technologies used across its watches, bike computers and platform services. Strava filed suit on September 30 in U.S. District Court in Colorado, seeking damages and a permanent injunction over features it says Garmin copied. Suunto filed suit on September 22 in the Eastern District of Texas, alleging infringement of multiple hardware and software patents and also seeking damages and a sales ban on devices using the disputed technology.

Strava’s complaint centers on patents covering two classes of features: segments, which let users define and compare performance on portions of routes, and user-preference maps often called heatmaps, which aggregate activity data to highlight popular routes. Strava says Garmin first received limited permission under a 2015 Master Cooperation Agreement but then developed competing systems that use proprietary Strava technology. The company asked a court to bar Garmin from selling or importing products that incorporate the challenged features and argued that monetary damages would not adequately remedy the harm it alleges.