Court victory for ‘Please Call Me’ inventor

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The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein has dismissed an appeal by Vodacom in the ‘Please Call Me’ matter.

Vodacom approached the SCA to reverse a judgment of the North Gauteng High Court that ‘Please Call Me’ inventor Kenneth Nkosana Makate is entitled to 27 percent of all revenue generated from his invention.

The court ruled that Vodacom should pay Makate 5 to 7.5 percent of the total revenue of the ‘Please Call Me’ product from March 2001 to date of judgment.

Makate’s legal representative senior counsel Cedric Puckrin argued before the full bench of judges of the SCA that Vodacom was using Makate’s intellectual property unlawfully.

Vodacom contended that the R47 million it offered to Makate is a reasonable compensation.

Makate rejected the offer saying he is entitled to anything between R28 billion and R110 billion.