Pretoria – The inventor of the “Please Call Me” invention Kenneth Makate has finally won his nearly two-decades-long legal battle against Vodacom to be properly compensated by the cellphone giant.
Over the years Vodacom moved from refusing to acknowledge that Makate invented the Please Call Me product to haggling over the amount he was to be compensated.
In 2008 Makate sued Vodacom in the high court, which was followed by long litigation.
In the end, Vodacom made Makate an R47 million offer, which he turned down.
Makate insisted that his invention was worth at least around R10 billion.
Vodacom then took the matter on appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The appeal revolved around a long-time dispute between the respondent, Makate, and Vodacom, the applicant, regarding the invention of the Please Call Me product.
On 26 April 2016, the Constitutional Court ordered that the parties enter into good faith negotiations to determine reasonable compensation for the invention and use of Please Call Me.
However, on Tuesday, the SCA ruled against Vodacom’s appeal and ordered the cellphone giant to pay Makate his dues with interest accrued over 18 years.
The SCA determined that although the high court was correct in finding that the CEO acted contrary to the order of the Constitutional Court, it failed to determine whether the ultimate decision was equitable and reasonable.
“This Court also deemed it a fruitless endeavour to remit the matter to the CEO to determine an equitable outcome as this was not what was originally sought by Makate in the high court,” the SCA said in its judgment Tuesday.
“In the result, the order of the high court was set aside and substituted with one determining that a decision that the respondent is entitled to be paid 5% to 7.5% of the total revenue of the Please Call Me product as well as the time value of money calculated at 5% for each successive year which was owed to the applicant and the capital amount or annual portion thereof.”
The matter dates back to 2001.
Makate’s legal team estimated that the Please Call Me invention generated R70 billion in revenues for Vodacom based on advertising built into the service, returned calls, and digital sales.
The SCA ordered Vodacom to settle the amount owed to Makate within 30 days.
Responding to the judgment, Vodacom said it was “surprised and disappointed” and it will appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Vodacom said it will bring an application for leave to appeal before the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
