Navico awarded $38m in damages by Garmin infringement
Garmin found liable for wilfully infringing Navico patents on downscan depth sounder technologyThe infringement finding concerned two of Navico’s patents relating to marine sonar technology — U.S. Patent Nos. 9,223,022 and 9,244,168 — and the finding is consistent with separate rulings by an International Trade Commission (ITC) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) concerning Garmin’s infringement of additional Navico patents.
"Earlier this year, the ALJ recommended a fine of $37 million against Garmin for violating cease-and-desist orders issued by the ITC to stop Garmin’s infringement of two more Navico patents," said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico.
"In a separate decision, the CBP likewise found infringement by Garmin, and stated that Garmin would be barred from importing all infringing sonar products.
"Now, a federal jury in U.S. District Court has confirmed that Garmin is infringing two other Navico patents — with all eight jurors voting unanimously that Garmin’s infringement was wilful," Ottosson said.
The wilfulness finding means the jury found that Garmin knew about Navico’s patents and engaged in conduct that "was egregious, reckless, wanton, malicious, done in bad faith, deliberately or consciously wrongful, or flagrant."
CLEARVU A BIT MURKY
As part of the civil lawsuit, Navico also accused Garmin of false advertising relating to false and misleading assertions regarding its transition from the infringing DownVü™ sonar-scanning to the replacement design called ClearVü™, which lacks a true downscan element.
Although the U.S. District Court judge opted not to submit this issue to the jury, during the trial Garmin’s sonar design engineer confirmed that ClearVü can miss objects directly beneath a user’s boat.
Garmin sells ClearVü sonar technology in the U.S. without a down-facing transducer element, relying on data from side-scanning elements to compile and synthesise a scanning image beneath the boat.
A down-facing transducer element is included in all ClearVü products outside of the U.S., beyond the scope of Navico’s U.S. patents.
Navico continues to believe that Garmin’s abrupt transition from DownVü to ClearVü in late 2016 included false and misleading statements about the features and capabilities of ClearVü.
Garmin’s actions confused the marine electronics market, Navico says, until Garmin finally acknowledged the limitations of ClearVü in March 2017, six months after the technology was announced.
At present, a decision to reverse a June 2017 ruling by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in favour of Garmin is under review.
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