Navico And Garmin Resolve Patent Dispute

Marine electronics giants Navico and Garmin jointly announced this week that the companies have finally resolved their long-standing patent dispute.

Navico, parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands, and Garmin, which sells electronics under its own brand, reached an agreement this week to cross-license patents and other intellectual property, which will allow both companies to bring new innovations to the market faster and benefit all marine customers. The agreement brings an end to a three-year legal battle that saw see-saw rulings in favor of both parties.

“Research and development of game-changing technologies like our DownScan Imaging is the lifeblood of our business and the marine electronics industry,” said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. “We are very pleased with this resolution, which includes guidelines for the future cross licensing of technologies for the benefit of both of our customers.”

“This is an exciting time as new technology is bringing positive change to the marine market,” said Garmin CEO and president, Cliff Pemble. “This resolution allows us to focus all of our energy to bring even more innovation to our marine customers.”