Judge denies most of SAP’s motion to dismiss Celonis’s antitrust claims

A US judge has denied most of SAP’s motion to Celonis’s antitrust claims. Judge Vince Chhabria denied dismissal on nearly all of Celonis’s core theories.

With this decision, the bulk of Celonis’s antitrust case against SAP survives and the lawsuit now moves into full discovery.

Celonis can now demand SAP’s internal documents on APIs, pricing, partner programs, and RISE contracts while amendments to the complaint remain possible once new evidence emerges.

The ruling only relates to the motion to dismiss, and no facts have been proven yet. The final decision will rest with a jury, should a settlement not be reached before then.

It marks the latest twist in a saga that began in March when Celonis sued SAP, accusing it of abusing its dominance in enterprise software by restricting customers’ ability to access their own ERP data and effectively shutting competitors like Celonis out of the process mining market.

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Judge makes big decisions in Celonis-SAP antitrust case

Judge Chhabria refused to dismiss nearly all of Celonis’s key claims, allowing the core antitrust issues in the case to move forward. These include:

• Actual monopolization – data access market. “Celonis has adequately pled that SAP willfully maintains its monopoly power in the SAP data access market by excluding rivals through means other than competition on the merits.”
• Attempted monopolization – process mining market. SAP allegedly “incrementally barred customers from accessing the data required for process mining and withdrew technical support” for no reason other than to “stifle competition.”
• Illegal bundling/predatory pricing. “If Signavio’s price is often zero, and if the marginal cost of offering Signavio is above zero, then the inference that Signavio’s price is lower than its marginal cost can be readily drawn.”
• False advertising. Celonis claims SAP published a misleading comparison chart overstating its prices and downplaying its technical capabilities.

Which claims were dismissed?

Two claims were dismissed but with leave to amend:

• Tying: The judge found no concrete coercion showing that customers had to take Signavio with SAP’s ERP software.
• Promissory estoppel: Alleged SAP statements were “too open-ended on their face” to form a legally enforceable promise.

“Celonis is extremely pleased the court has greenlighted virtually all of our claims, in a resounding victory,” commented a Celonis spokesperson. “We are moving forward with 10 claims against SAP, which range from monopolization to predatory pricing, false advertising, and more. As the case progresses, we will continue to fight to ensure our customers can access their own data freely and work with the technology providers of their choice.”

The next milestone is the second settlement conference on December 3.

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A multi-front legal war

“As the order’s subtext suggests, fighting on all fronts is rarely wise,” wrote advisor and commentator Christoph Ahr. “What began as a nuisance case now looks like a multi-front legal war – with customers quietly watching. For SAP, a settlement would make absolute sense – but the same is true for Celonis.”

The case remains open until the jury has spoken, and litigation always carries risk for both sides, he added. “Beyond the legal confrontation, the real question is: What serves customers best? At the end of the day, it’s about one thing – clarity.”

Earlier this month, Celonis filed multiple patent claims against SAP. The claims relate to infringing products and/or services. “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.”

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