Strava-Suunto-Garmin lawsuit: ‘The person that loses in this is the consumer’

The fitness app Strava is suing Garmin for allegedly copying patented ideas. Additionally, the Finnish smartwatch brand Suunto is also taking Garmin to court for similar reasons.

They claim Garmin has infringed on five design patents covering various tracking technologies, antenna construction and watch casing.

Suunto claims these features appear in nearly all of Garmin’s watches.

Tech journalist Brendon Petersen says that Garmin signed agreements with Strava and Suunto years ago, which it has been accused of violating.

However, he says that Garmin is essential for Strava, as they do not have much of a platform outside of Garmin.

Suunto on the other hand is less reliant on Garmin, as they do make their own hardware.

He says the companies are aiming to either have the courts place an injunction preventing the sale of Garmin products with the patented software, or to get money from Garmin.

“There really is no winner in all of this. The person that loses the most is the consumer,” he continues.

However, he says the users are unlikely to be affected in the near future as these lawsuits take time.

To listen to Editor at Reframed and tech and travel journalist Brendon Petersen in conversation with Clarence Ford on CapeTalk’s Views and News, click the audio player below: