Celonis Wins German Patent Injunction Against SAP in Process Mining Battle

WISECODE Take

The Munich Regional Court ruled in October 2026 that SAP’s Signavio software infringes Celonis’s EP 3 139 274 patent (case ID: 7 O 12849/25) and issued an injunction. This decision disproves the misconception that software algorithms are unpatentable in Europe, demonstrating that data logic with technical character remains a potent weapon. The court held that SAP’s column-oriented storage format fell within the patent scope and refused to stay proceedings despite SAP’s nullity action (case ID: 6 Ni 17/26). Celonis successfully blocked a key competitor module in Germany, akin to a precision strategic strike on logistics in military warfare. This directly impacts global software vendors, whereas purely domestic companies remain unaffected. Zhidian’s Patent Portfolio Checkup helps software teams identify European patent risks during R&D. For companies entering the European market, we advise: First, conduct FTO searches focusing on data storage and calculation logic during R&D; Second, avoid narrowing patent claims to specific database specs, ensuring coverage of equivalent implementations. The outcome of software patent disputes rarely lies in the front-end interface, but in how low-level data architecture maps to claim wording.