SAP agrees to pay Teradata $480M to settle intellectual property lawsuit

SAP and Teradata have brought an end to their lengthy legal dispute, with SAP agreeing to pay $480 million to settle the matter. The two companies have been embroiled in claims and counter-claims since 2008 when a joint venture between them sparked the legal battle.

The settlement agreement, outlined in an SEC filing, resolves all past and pending litigation, including allegations of antitrust violations against SAP. As part of the agreement, Teradata will receive a gross payment of $480 million, resulting in a net amount of $355 million to $362 million after fees, before taxes.

The legal saga began in June 2018 when Teradata sued SAP, accusing the ERP vendor of trade secret misappropriation, copyright infringement, and antitrust violations over a decade-long period. Teradata alleged that SAP leveraged its dominance in the ERP market to entice it into a joint venture in 2008 and then rapidly gained market share in data warehousing. Although SAP attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed in September 2018, a California court rejected the request in December of that year.

Subsequent legal maneuvers saw patent infringement counterclaims filed by SAP and Teradata, as well as additional lawsuits and counterclaims related to patent infringement in the US and Germany. Antitrust claims and trade secret claims in the initial lawsuit were partially dismissed, leading to an appeal and a subsequent overturning of a summary judgment decision against Teradata. The legal battle culminated with a trial scheduled to commence in March 2026, but the recent settlement has brought the dispute to a close.

The resolution of this dispute, stemming from alleged conduct dating back nearly two decades, marks the end of a contentious chapter between SAP and Teradata. Despite the long and complex legal proceedings, the parties have finally reached an agreement to put an end to their legal battle.