Strava has accused Garmin of violating patents and a 2015 cooperation agreement and is demanding a ban on the sale of the company's watches and bike computers, the DC Rainmaker website reported.
The lawsuit concerns two patents: one for segments and one for heatmaps. Strava claims that Garmin copied its segment technology back in 2014 and used heatmaps in its Connect app and devices, which the company claims infringed on patents from 2014 to 2016. The lawsuit says that Strava has suffered "lost revenue and business opportunities, erosion of competitive differentiation and network effects" as a result.
Separately, Strava points to a violation of the 2015 Master Cooperation Agreement, under which Garmin received a limited license to integrate Strava Live Segments. According to Strava, Garmin continued to develop its own Garmin Segments contrary to the agreements.
Adding to the conflict was Garmin's new API partner rules, announced in July 2025, which require third-party data attribution. Strava called this "hidden advertising" and said it did not agree to comply.
"Garmin received limited permission from Strava to implement Strava Segments on their devices; however, they leveraged this access to carefully study those features, painstakingly copy them, and then release them as Garmin features, and as a result, Strava has sued Garmin to protect its patented inventions," Strava spokesperson Brian Bell told The Verge.
The company emphasizes that the lawsuit will not affect the synchronization of user data between Garmin and Strava. Garmin, for its part, declined to comment on the case, citing that it "does not comment on pending litigation."
Analysts note that Strava's demand to ban the sale of Garmin devices with segments and heatmaps could significantly affect the market, but experts doubt the prospects of this lawsuit, since similar functions appeared in Garmin even before the filing of some of Strava's patents.