Strava files patent infringement lawsuit against Garmin

Strava has filed a lawsuit against Garmin, accusing the company of infringing on its patents related to segments and heatmaps. The case also claims Garmin violated a Master Cooperation Agreement when it created its own heatmap technology.

Strava is asking the court to block Garmin from selling smartwatches that use the disputed features. This could affect a large portion of Garmin’s product lineup, as both functions are common across its fitness devices.

The dispute follows recent policy changes from Garmin requiring third-party software to display its logo on activity posts or risk losing API access. According to a Reddit thread about the situation, this move may have triggered the conflict.

The two companies have worked closely in the past, with Garmin devices integrating Strava’s tracking and activity-sharing tools. However, this legal action signals a major shift in their relationship.

Industry sources, including DC Rainmaker, noted that Garmin doesn’t enforce the logo rule, adding more confusion to the situation. Redditors have also suggested that Strava could later drop the case to avoid further escalation.

As of now, Strava Chief Product Officer Matt Salazar issued an explanation through Reddit. However, he was blasted by replies for weaponizing their API against other users.

Setting the record straight about Garmin
byu/strava-team inStrava

He alleged that they’re working on preventing Garmin from blatant advertising, along with securing user data. Salazar added that they’ve been working with Garmin for over five months to address the issues, but to no avail.