R80m offer to ‘Please Call Me’ inventor is fair, Vodacom tells top court
Mobile operator wants Constitutional Court to overturn SCA ruling that compensation to Nkosana Makate be renegotiated
21 November 2024 - 14:43
UPDATED 21 November 2024 - 16:38
by Isaac Mahlangu
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Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate is back in the Constitutional Court. File picture: KABELO MOKOENA.
Mobile telecommunications giant Vodacom has told the Constitutional Court that R47m compensation offered to “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate, which now stands at R80m with interest, was a generous and equitable offer for his idea.
The argument was made by Vodacom counsel advocate Wim Trengove, who stated that when Vodacom implemented Makate’s idea it had lost novelty because had offered the service first.
Vodacom is seeking to convince the apex court to overturn the decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which found in favour of Makate, setting aside the R47m compensation that Makate rejected in 2019.
The SCA ordered Vodacom to make a fresh offer. Makate wants R9.4bn.
Trengove said Makate’s idea was novel and “worthy of a generous compensation”; however, it was wrong to assume his idea was the source of all revenue derived from the “Please Call Me” service, which was already in the public domain.
“Even if Vodacom didn’t have the benefit of Makate’s idea, it would have got the idea from MTN,” Trengove argued.
Trengove called the ruling of the SCA’s majority, which set aside the R47m compensation and ordered Vodacom to make a fresh determination, as a “fundamental failure of justice” as the court “failed to recognise evidence” before it.
Makate’s lawyer, Stuart Scott, told the court Vodacom continues to make money from Makate’s idea without paying him anything. The company initially praised his idea but did not want to compensate him despite benefiting for 24 years, Scott added.
“Makate is in court this morning and he’s now 48 years old. He is still waiting for his compensation from Vodacom, and they have been using his invention for 24 years,” Scott said.
Vodacom was able to develop Makate's idea into a product in a few months. “It [Makate’s idea] has been equated to Google ... in other words, it wasn't just a brilliant idea, it was one of the most brilliant ideas that’s ever been,” said Scott.
“Vodacom described his idea as ... as [one of] Africa's five best inventions.”
Update: November 21 2024 This story contains comment from Nkosana Makate’s lawyer
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
R80m offer to ‘Please Call Me’ inventor is fair, Vodacom tells top court
Mobile operator wants Constitutional Court to overturn SCA ruling that compensation to Nkosana Makate be renegotiated
Mobile telecommunications giant Vodacom has told the Constitutional Court that R47m compensation offered to “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate, which now stands at R80m with interest, was a generous and equitable offer for his idea.
The argument was made by Vodacom counsel advocate Wim Trengove, who stated that when Vodacom implemented Makate’s idea it had lost novelty because had offered the service first.
Vodacom is seeking to convince the apex court to overturn the decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which found in favour of Makate, setting aside the R47m compensation that Makate rejected in 2019.
The SCA ordered Vodacom to make a fresh offer. Makate wants R9.4bn.
Trengove said Makate’s idea was novel and “worthy of a generous compensation”; however, it was wrong to assume his idea was the source of all revenue derived from the “Please Call Me” service, which was already in the public domain.
“Even if Vodacom didn’t have the benefit of Makate’s idea, it would have got the idea from MTN,” Trengove argued.
Trengove called the ruling of the SCA’s majority, which set aside the R47m compensation and ordered Vodacom to make a fresh determination, as a “fundamental failure of justice” as the court “failed to recognise evidence” before it.
Makate’s lawyer, Stuart Scott, told the court Vodacom continues to make money from Makate’s idea without paying him anything. The company initially praised his idea but did not want to compensate him despite benefiting for 24 years, Scott added.
“Makate is in court this morning and he’s now 48 years old. He is still waiting for his compensation from Vodacom, and they have been using his invention for 24 years,” Scott said.
Vodacom was able to develop Makate's idea into a product in a few months. “It [Makate’s idea] has been equated to Google ... in other words, it wasn't just a brilliant idea, it was one of the most brilliant ideas that’s ever been,” said Scott.
“Vodacom described his idea as ... as [one of] Africa's five best inventions.”
Update: November 21 2024
This story contains comment from Nkosana Makate’s lawyer
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