Car navigation system specialist TomTom has lost the first round of its Dutch court battle with US rival Garmin. A judge in The Hague rejected TomTom’s demand that Garmin stop selling six GPS navigation systems.

TomTom claims the Garmin systems infringe patents on its GO technology and is to take the case further. The two companies are also embroiled in a patent case in the US. There, Garmin has taken TomTom to court, alleging five patent infringements. The Hague court ruling comes two days after TomTom owners sold shares worth €390m. TomTom is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange.