Garmin sues TomTom for patent infringement

Garmin Ltd. has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against its most visible rival, TomTom Inc.
The suit, filed Feb. 1 in federal court in Madison, Wis., alleges that TomTom infringed on three navigation-related patents. One patent lists Garmin CEO Min Kao as one of the inventors.


"TomTom Inc. rejects Garmin's claims and will vigorously defend itself," TomTom said in a written release Thursday.
TomTom spokeswoman Karen Drake declined to comment on the suit.
Olathe-based Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) and TomTom, based in the Netherlands, are chief rivals in the emerging market for portable navigation systems in cars.
Although Garmin also makes navigation electronics for planes, boats and recreational use, TomTom is wholly focused on the automotive market. It entered the U.S. market in the summer with a sizable marketing push including television ads during Monday Night Football.
Both companies make similar-looking portable navigation devices that are shaped like miniature desktop computer monitors.
"We need to protect the hard work of our engineers," Garmin spokesman Ted Gartner said Thursday. "In this case, we felt there was infringement."
Garmin holds more than 200 patents, including several with Kao and fellow co-founder Gary Burrell listed as inventors.
This is the first time Garmin, founded in 1989, has initiated a patent infringement lawsuit, Gartner said.
"Frankly, patents are only good if they're enforced," he said.
Garmin has been hit with patent infringement lawsuits itself, by electronics giant NCR Corp. in 2004 and a small California company last year. In both cases, Garmin countersued and ended up settling out of court for undisclosed amounts.

Information courtesy of Kansas Business Journal