SAP must stop infringing a Celonis process mining patent, court rules

The legal disputes between Germany’s largest software company, SAP, and the Munich-based process mining specialist Celonis took another turn last week. After the German Federal Cartel Office most recently dismissed a complaint filed by Celonis in July, the Munich I Regional Court ruled entirely in favor of Celonis in a case regarding the infringement of a European patent held by Celonis.

Case No. 7 O 12849/25 concerned patent EP 3 139 274 B1 describing a method for determining a net lead time between process steps using process data stored in a structured manner in main memory (in-memory).

Celonis had filed a lawsuit alleging that the patent was infringed by a feature of the SAP Signavio Process Intelligence software solution — SAP acquired Celonis’s rival Signavio in March 2021.

SAP must cease use and provide information

The court ruling prohibits SAP from offering the patent-protected method in Germany or using it itself. SAP must also provide Celonis with information regarding the extent to which it has infringed the patent since April 22, 2020, including details on:

• where the patent-infringing processes originated and through which channels they were offered and distributed;
• which customers purchased them, including names and addresses;
• how many access licenses were granted and how much users paid for them;
• for how many users the methods were used per calendar year;
• which other individuals were involved in offering and using the methods.

In addition, SAP must provide a transparent account of the extent of the patent infringements based on its financial figures. The company is obligated to pay appropriate compensation or damages.

“The ruling by the Munich Regional Court confirms our legal position: SAP Signavio’s technology infringes on Celonis’s patent rights. We consistently protect our intellectual property and remain committed to fair competition,” explained a Celonis spokesperson.

SAP says no consequences for its customers

SAP, however, points out that the court ruling pertains to a single, specific feature within SAP Signavio Process Intelligence, not to the product as a whole. SAP Signavio Process Intelligence remains available to customers, according to a company spokesperson.

The spokesperson also dismissed concerns that the ruling could hinder companies’ migration to SAP S/4HANA Cloud. Migrations to SAP S/4HANA Cloud are not affected by this, he said. SAP is working to ensure that there are no disruptions for its customers.

The concern is not entirely unfounded: SAP Signavio is part of Rise with SAP, a SaaS solution from the Walldorf-based company designed to support migration to the S/4HANA Cloud. SAP Signavio’s process mining tools are designed to provide insight into actual process flows and identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

SAP will appeal

The Regional Court’s ruling does not mean the matter is by any means settled: As the spokesperson for the Walldorf-based software giant explained, SAP does not share the Munich court’s legal opinion and will file an appeal against the ruling. In addition, SAP has challenged the validity of the patent in question before the Federal Patent Court.

“SAP’s top priority is to ensure that customers are not affected by this. All other issues will be resolved through the appropriate legal channels,” said the spokesperson for the Walldorf-based company.

This article first appeared on Computerwoche on Oct. 13, 2026.