Software company Celonis has won a key ruling in its antitrust case against fellow German software giant SAP. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco ruled that Celonis may proceed with claims accusing SAP of illegally monopolizing part of the business software market. While the court dismissed some allegations, it allowed Celonis to pursue its antitrust, unfair competition, and false advertising claims.
The lawsuit, filed in March, alleges that SAP used its dominance in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to limit how companies access their own data, making it difficult for competitors to operate. The judge also rejected SAP’s request to dismiss claims that it monopolized data access in its ERP systems, but dismissed a related claim of illegal product tying.
Celonis stated that the ruling “greenlighted virtually all of our claims, in a resounding victory.” SAP, while denying any wrongdoing, expressed satisfaction that the court dismissed a portion of the lawsuit, and added it would “remain steadfast in our position and will continue to vigorously defend ourselves and our innovations.” Celonis further alleged that SAP altered its policies to restrict customer data access and threatened to withhold support from companies using Celonis software. The judge gave Celonis 14 days to file an amended complaint.
