Blackbird Tech LLC v. Garmin International, Inc. et al.
Settled- Docket:
- 1:16-cv-00684
- Filed:
- 2016-08-04
Patents:6434212
Blackbird Technologies filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Garmin, which the parties settled in December 2017.
Defendant
Garmin USA, Inc.
1 case as defendant.
Company profile
Company Overview
Garmin USA, Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN), a publicly traded multinational technology company founded in 1989. While legally domiciled in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, the company's operational headquarters are in Olathe, Kansas. Garmin Ltd. and its subsidiaries employ over 23,000 people in 37 countries and reported revenue of $7.25 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. The company's market capitalization was approximately $46.7 billion as of May 2026. Garmin International, Inc. and Garmin USA, Inc. are both Kansas-based subsidiaries of the parent company.
Products and Services
Garmin is an operating company known for its Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes products across five main sectors: fitness, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and automotive. Its product lines include wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers (such as the fēnix, Forerunner, and Venu series), handheld GPS units, satellite communicators, and specialized navigation systems for aircraft, boats, and cars. In the aviation market, Garmin provides a comprehensive suite of avionics, including integrated flight decks, navigation and communication products, and flight control systems. The marine segment offers chartplotters, fishfinders, and radar systems.
Patent Litigation Posture
Based on the provided data, Garmin USA, Inc. is an operating company that defends itself in patent litigation. It has been tracked as a defendant in one case and has not been a plaintiff. This pattern is typical of technology manufacturers targeted by patent assertion entities. The single tracked case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, a common venue for patent disputes.
The plaintiff in Garmin's tracked case, Blackbird Tech LLC, is a non-practicing entity (NPE) that acquires patents to monetize them through litigation. Blackbird Technologies describes its business as providing "a unique opportunity for individual inventors and small companies to realize the value of their patents." Courts have noted that Blackbird's business model consists of purchasing patents and asserting them through litigation. The firm has filed numerous patent infringement suits in the District of Delaware against various technology companies.