09/10/2025
In a notable development within the fitness technology sector, Strava has initiated legal proceedings against Garmin, seeking to halt the sale of certain Garmin devices allegedly infringing Strava’s patents. This litigation, between two leading fitness technology companies, highlights the increasingly competitive nature of the market.
Strava is seeking to enforce two of its patents US9297651 and US9116922, the first relating to an aspect of Strava’s heat maps technology and the second to its well established ‘Strava segments’.
The concepts of heat maps and segments are integral to Strava’s platform. These heat maps enable users to view paths frequently travelled by other users within a given area, providing insight into user activity patterns. While Strava’s heat maps gained widespread popularity, the underlying idea appears to have been known before Strava introduced its iteration of the concept, and before the priority date of the US’651 patent.
Similarly, the notion of ‘segments’, which designate specific portions of a route for competitive tracking, predates Strava’s patent filing. Segments are employed by Strava as a motivational tool to encourage users to improve performance by competing for top times on predefined stretches. Segments were employed by Strava as early as in 2009, well before the filing date of the US’922 patent in March 2011.
Since the legal proceedings have come to light, there has been speculation as to the validity of the patents given that heat maps and segments appear to have been established before the filing date of the patents in question. However, despite the presence of heat maps and segments at the time of filing their applications, from a brief review of the claims of Strava’s patents in question, these relate to more nuanced developments of the technologies.
The US’651 heat map patent focuses on the creation of preferential routes based on heat map data, wherein the system determines an optimised path for the user based on the popularity of different paths between a user defined start and end point. The patent therefore goes beyond merely displaying popular routes, and introduces a layer of route customisation grounded in community data.
The second patent US’922 relates to a system enabling users to create their own segments, with subsequent activities automatically matched to these user-defined segments. This concept goes further than the broader concept of segments themselves and allows for a more personalised and dynamic competitive environment.
These important distinctions could be indicative of the validity of Strava’s patents. At no point does Strava assert ownership over the fundamental ideas of heat maps or segments themselves but rather over particular implementations of these concepts.
Why is Strava taking legal action now? This infringement action is particularly intriguing because, despite being competitors in the fitness tracking space, Strava and Garmin have long collaborated successfully and benefitted from each other’s technology. Garmin commands a significant portion of the fitness device market, with millions of users whose data often feeds into Strava’s platform. This integration has made Garmin users the largest demographic on Strava, underscoring the interdependence of the two companies.
However, tensions have emerged regarding data attribution. Garmin has reportedly requested that Strava must clarify when activity data originates from Garmin devices, potentially diluting Strava’s brand association with the data.
Furthermore, while Strava’s segments currently dominate in popularity, Garmin also has its own segment feature which comes at no cost to its users. There could be concerns that Strava’s recent introduction of a paid subscription, which is required to make use of its segments, may deter some users who might gravitate towards Garmin’s free alternative.
It will be interesting to see how Garmin chooses to respond. Will they try to invalidate Strava’s patents, or will they settle? Garmin also has its own extensive patent portfolio, comprising of over one thousand granted patents. Will we see Garmin seeking to enforce these against Strava in retaliation?
This case reflects a growing trend of technology companies rigorously defending their intellectual property as a critical asset in a market which is heavily focussed on user data. As fitness tracking continues to grow and evolve, patents will likely play an increasingly prominent role in shaping the industry’s future.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
