<em>Strava v. Garmin</em>: Who is Infringing on Who?
Things are Heat(map)ing up in this Segment Between Strava and Garmin
Attribution:
©HistoryLV,CC BY-SA 4.0, via wikimedia commons.
On September 30, 2025, Strava, Inc. (“Strava”), a popular social exercise sharing platform, filed a complaint against Garmin Ltd. and Garmin International, Inc. (collectively, “Garmin”), a fitness technology producer, in the District Court for the District of Colorado. Strava, Inc. v. Garmin Ltd, No. 1:25-CV-03074 (D. Colo. filed Sep. 30, 2025). Strava claimed that Garmin’s activity and offerings on its platform infringed on two of their patents. Id. The two patents in question involve heat maps and segments – features that are available on both platforms which offer individualized statistic reports for running, biking, swimming, etc. Id.
What is a segment, and how is it patented? Segments allow athletes to track and compare their performance on specific routes against their own performance and that of other athletes. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918167-Strava-Segments (last visited October 28, 2025). As a primarily social app for athletes, especially runners and cyclists, Strava’s segment feature is a way for athletes to compete against themselves and their previous times. It also allows athletes to see the efforts of others in their area. On August 25, 2015, a patent for Defining and Matching Segments was assigned to Strava, Inc. DEFINING AND MATCHING SEGMENTS, US PAT 9116922.
Garmin rolled out its segment feature in 2014. Rachel Boswell, Strava is suing Garmin and demanding that they stop making watches – this is what it means for runners, Runner’s World (October 3, 2025), https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/news/a68806843/strava-sues-garmin-impact-on-runners/. Athletes who wear Garmin fitness watches to track their workouts have access to the Garmin Connect app, which provides them with a variety of statistics around their workouts, including speed trends, heart rate patterns and averages, VO2 Max statistics, and other health data. The Garmin Connect app also allows users to see a map of their workout, including segment details like Strava’s. Rachel Boswell, Strava is suing Garmin and demanding that they stop making watches – this is what it means for runners, Runner’s World (October 3, 2025), https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/news/a68806843/strava-sues-garmin-impact-on-runners/. Strava segments are user-created sections of roads or trails used by athletes to compare their performance against other athletes on the app or against their own previous completions of these segments. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918157-Create-a-Segment#:~:text=Strava%20users%20can%20create%20segments,and%20the%20red%20end%20marker (last visited October 28, 2025). Similarly, Garmin allows for user-created sections or courses to compete against other athletes or oneself on any given section or course. Garmin also allows for segments to be imported from Strava. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918277-Strava-Live-Segments-on-Garmin-Devices (last visited October 28, 2025).
What is a heatmap, and how is it patented? Heatmaps visualize popular routes based on how often athletes frequent routes. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918467-Personal-Heatmaps (last visited October 28, 2025). Strava and Garmin both offer a global and personal heatmap feature for their users. A global heatmap allows users to see publicly popular routes, while the personal heatmap tracks each individual user’s frequent routes. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918877-Strava-Metro-and-the-Global-Heatmap (last visited October 28, 2025). Strava applied for a patent for “generating user preference activity maps” in 2014 and was granted the patent in 2016. GENERATING USER PREFERENCE ACTIVITY MAPS, US PAT 9297651. The Garmin Connect app also offers a heatmap feature of its own. Rachel Boswell, Strava is suing Garmin and demanding that they stop making watches – this is what it means for runners, (October 3, 2025) https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/news/a68806843/strava-sues-garmin-impact-on-runners/. As a result of the alleged infringements on Strava’s patents, Strava claimed that it damages, including lost revenue and business opportunities, erosion of competitive differentiation and network effects, harm to goodwill, and unjust gains to Garmin.” Ray Maker, Strava Just Sued Garmin: Demands Garmin Stop Selling Devices, DC Rainmaker (October 2, 2025), https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-sues-garmin-demands-stop-selling-devices.html. Strava and Garmin both collect the Global Positioning System (GPS) data of their users to create their respective heat maps, but Garmin rolled out its heatmap technology in early 2013 – prior to Strava obtaining its patent. Ray Maker, Strava Just Sued Garmin: Demands Garmin Stop Selling Devices, DC Rainmaker (October 2, 2025), https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-sues-garmin-demands-stop-selling-devices.html.
While temporarily at odds, Strava and Garmin’s partnership and the intertwined nature of their technology was likely a large factor in Strava’s voluntary dismissal of the charges against Garmin on October 21, 2025 – less than one month after the case was initiated. Strava, Inc. v. Garmin Ltd, No. 1:25-CV-03074 (D. Colo. filed Oct. 22, 2025). The two platforms work together in several ways. As previously mentioned, Garmin users can import segment data from Strava to Garmin, indicating Garmin’s willingness to cohabitate with Strava. Strava, Inc., https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918277-Strava-Live-Segments-on-Garmin-Devices (last visited October 28, 2025). Garmin athletes commonly use Strava supplementally to their Garmin Connect app for its social media aspect and the option for the paid Strava subscription giving additional workout insights. Ray Maker, Strava Voluntarily Drops Lawsuit Against Garmin, (October 22, 2025), https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-drops-voluntarily-lawsuit-against.html. Athletes with other fitness devices also commonly pair their device’s platform with Strava so that they can import their workout data onto the app. Strava allows users of Garmin, Coros, Whoop, Apple Watch, and other technologies to share their workouts with one another on one central social platform. This platform also gives athletes a space to support, inspire, and compete with other athletes through challenges provided by sponsors and by Strava itself. Strava, Inc., https://www.strava.com/challenges (last visited October 28, 2025). Garmin’s social media footprint is much smaller when compared with Strava’s. While Garmin users can share their workouts on the Garmin Connect app amongst other Garmin, they may prefer to share their activity with the more diverse pool of athletes found on Strava. Garmin Ltd. https://support.garmin.com/enUS/?faq=oFgzQxgDmq01HUOtmRrltA (last visited October 28, 2025).
The announcement of Strava’s suit against Garmin unsettled many Garmin users. Eve Upton-Clark, TikTok athletes are freaking out about the Strava v. Garmin lawsuit, (October 9, 2025), https://www.fastcompany.com/91419368/tiktok-athletes-strava-garmin-lawsuit-runnning-marathon. This is because one of the conditions in Strava’s complaint discussed barring Garmin users from uploading their data to Strava starting on November 1, 2025, if Garmin did not comply with Strava’s demands to give it credit for its patented technology. Id. Garmin users took to social media to discuss their disapproval of this implication. Id. Many Garmin users and athletes enjoy the social aspect that Strava brings to exercise. The ability to see others’ efforts can motivate and inspire friends and fellow athletes to get active while providing a platform to connect with new nearby athletes. It also provides a space for a supportive online community, especially for runners, cyclists, and other athletes who primarily exercise alone.
One of the largest concerns pertaining to Strava’s threat to block Garmin uploads was the upcoming New York City Marathon, which is one of seven world major marathons. Id. Garmin is a top brand for long distance runners because of the plentiful data and thorough analyses that it provides to runners using its technology to track performance and general health statistics during their training and races. The Run Testers, https://theruntesters.com/running-watches/the-best-running-watches/#:~:text=Last%20year%20this%20section%20of,with%20their%20heart%
20rate%20tracking (last visited October 28, 2025). The blockage of Garmin uploads was set to go into effect on the eve of the 2025 New York City Marathon. Eve Upton-Clark, TikTok athletes are freaking out about the Strava v. Garmin lawsuit, (October 9, 2025), https://www.fastcompany.com/91419368/tiktok-athletes-strava-garmin-lawsuit-runnning-marathon. Those who have been tracking and sharing their marathon training block using both platforms were not pleased about this potential consequence. Id. This upcoming occasion might have played some role in the speedy dismissal of the case, but the more likely reason is the repercussions that this case may have had on Strava had they continued to pursue it. Ray Maker, Strava Voluntarily Drops Lawsuit Against Garmin, (October 22, 2025), https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-drops-voluntarily-lawsuit-against.html.
What repercussions could this move have on Strava? Garmin, as a well-established technology company, had 1,391 granted patents as of 2024. Insights By GreyB, https://insights.greyb.com/garmin-patents/#:~:text=Garmin%20has%20a%20total%20
of,the%20origin%20country%20of%20Garmin (last visited October 28, 2025). Given the overlapping functions of the businesses and the relative time that each has been in operation, it is likely that Strava would find itself infringing on perhaps a few of Garmin’s many patents. Ray Maker, Strava Voluntarily Drops Lawsuit Against Garmin, (October 22, 2025), https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-drops-voluntarily-lawsuit-against.html. It would be reasonable for Garmin to investigate whether Strava is infringing on its numerous patents, but one would hope that this bump in the road is just that – a bump in the road of the ongoing partnership between the two platforms. A top-rated fitness technology producer, Garmin is a leader in the industry. While this corporate partnership has mutual benefits for both platforms, Strava likely has more to lose if the relationship were to crumble. As a growing fitness platform, Strava’s decision to dismiss the suit against Garmin was in its best interest and relieved many of its avid users.