Process intelligence vendor Celonis has filed two patent claims against technology giant SAP, one in the Eastern District of Texas and the other in the regional court of Munich, Germany (Landgericht München). The claims relate to infringing products and/or services.
Celonis is already embroiled in an antitrust dispute with SAP. In March, Celonis accused SAP of violating US antitrust law and other provisions by making it harder and more expensive for Celonis to access client data stored in SAP’s applications.
Celonis also accused SAP of engaging in increasingly egregious conduct targeting its customers to coerce them into using Signavio, SAP’s own process mining offering.
Celonis files patent claims against SAP
In the Texas filing, Celonis accused SAP of “purposefully and voluntarily” placing one or more infringing products and/or services into the stream of commerce with the expectation that they will be purchased and used by consumers.
“Celonis is informed and believes that SAP employs a number of personnel in this District, including personnel involved in SAP’s infringement at least through the testing, demonstration, support, use, offer for sale and sale of the Accused Products and services within Texas,” the filing read.
In the Munich filing, Celonis requested a hearing in which it plans to order SAP to “cease and desist” under penalty of an administrative fine determined by the court for each case of non-compliance. According to Celonis, this should equate up to 250,000 euros – alternatively, administrative detention – or administrative detention of up to six months and, in the event of repeated violations, up to a total of two years (the administrative detention to be enforced against the legal representatives of the Defendant).
“Protecting our intellectual property is essential to ensuring Celonis can continue to deliver innovative solutions for our customers worldwide,” commented a Celonis spokesperson. “We will not be intimidated by SAP’s attempts to stifle competition through meritless patent litigation and will continue to vigorously defend our IP against SAP’s blatant copying of our proprietary technologies.”
EU probes SAP over potential anticompetitive practices
Separate to the Celonis cases, the European Union (EU) has launched an investigation into potential anticompetitive practices by SAP. The European Commission probe focuses on SAP’s aftermarket practices related to its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which helps companies manage finances, HR, supply chains, sales and procurement.
Last month, SAP confirmed that the European Commission has started formal proceedings involving the company. “These proceedings address some areas of our on-premise maintenance and support policies, which are based on long-standing standards that are common across the global software sector.”
SAP stated its belief that its policies and actions are fully in line with competition rules. “However, we take the issues raised seriously and we are working closely with the EU Commission to resolve them,” the firm added.
SAP does not anticipate the engagement with the European Commission to result in material impacts on its financial performance. “As a major European player in a very dynamic global industry, SAP is committed to open competition. We trust the European Commission will aim for a quick and fair conclusion to these proceedings,” SAP said.