TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Saboteurs threaten South Africa’s power supply

      20 May 2022

      Prosus to sell Russia’s Avito

      20 May 2022

      Curro pilots artificial intelligence for learning in its schools

      20 May 2022

      Dark weekend lies ahead thanks to you know who

      20 May 2022

      CSIR develops app to help kids learn to read

      20 May 2022
    • World

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Musk moves to soothe investor fears over Tesla

      20 May 2022

      Apple is almost ready to show off its mixed-reality headset

      20 May 2022

      TikTok plans big push into gaming

      19 May 2022

      Musk says he will vote Republican, calls ESG a ‘scam’

      19 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022

      Meet Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s personal ‘fixer’

      6 May 2022

      Twitter takeover was brash and fast, with Musk calling the shots

      26 April 2022
    • Podcasts

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E01 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 1’

      10 May 2022

      Llew Claasen on how exchange controls are harming SA tech start-ups

      2 May 2022

      The inside scoop on OVEX’s big expansion plans

      20 April 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»‘Please call me’ battle back in court

    ‘Please call me’ battle back in court

    News By Ray Mahlaka26 January 2017
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    A building at Vodacom’s head office campus in Midrand

    Vodacom is still prepared to negotiate with “please call me” inventor Nkosana Makate on whether to compensate him a share of revenue that the service has generated.

    This emerged from Vodacom’s affidavit filed on Tuesday in response to Makate’s latest application at the constitutional court, which seeks clarity on last years’ groundbreaking order that compelled the company to enter into in good faith compensation negotiations with him.

    A fresh battle is heading to the constitutional court as compensation negotiations between Makate and Vodacom have deadlocked. Makate has accused Vodacom of trying to renege on its obligation to pay him for “please call me”.

    Vodacom’s chief legal and regulatory officer, Nkateko Nyoka, in court papers says the company has “at all times” acted in good faith and sought to keep Makate at the negotiating table.

    “Vodacom had hoped that by acting in this manner, negotiations would commence and lead to a settlement in which both Vodacom and Mr Makate would agree to an appropriate amount or a model for determining reasonable compensation…” says Nyoka.

    Correspondence for compensation negotiations between Vodacom and Makate’s attorneys Stemela & Lubbe Attorneys began two weeks after the constitutional court’s ruling in April last year, which was scathing of Vodacom’s refusal to credit Makate for the “please call me” invention.

    Vodacom’s negotiating team included its chief human resources officer Matimba Mbungela, chief financial officer Till Streichert and an expert from Germany, who specialises in compensation for employee innovations.

    After several meetings between both parties that initially began in September last year, talks have since stalled as Makate claims that Vodacom challenged the interpretation of reasonable compensation and delays in the company producing its records to determine the revenue that the innovation generated since its launch in 2001.

    The company argues that it’s open to considering other compensation methodologies to arrive at a reasonable compensation amount as opposed to Makate’s demand for a share of “please call me” revenue.

    It also argues that Makate’s interpretation of the constitutional court’s order is incorrect. “There’s nothing in the wording of the order which stipulates, or even suggests, that Vodacom is obliged to pay Mr Makate a share in the revenue, or that the precise share in the revenue is to be determined by the negotiations or, if necessary, by Vodacom’s CEO,” Nyoka says in court papers.

    Vodacom opposes the application on the basis that the constitutional court’s order is “clear and unambiguous” when it comes to Makate’s compensation and that the court has no jurisdiction to revisit or amend its final order delivered in April. On the latter, what Makate seeks through the application “would offend against the principle of finality in litigation”.

    There’s nothing in the wording of the order which stipulates, or even suggests, that Vodacom is obliged to pay Mr Makate a share in the revenue

    Makate’s application might harm the prospects of achieving an agreement for a reasonable compensation, Nyoka argues.

    Makate wants 15% of the revenue generated by “please call me” since its inception. He invented “please call me” in 2000 while working as the company’s trainee accountant. What followed was a nearly 16-year-long dispute for Makate to be compensated for the invention, which allows a cellphone user without airtime to send a free message requesting to be called back.

    “Please call me” was a game changer for South Africa’s then fledgling telecommunications sector, as it would increase traffic to mobile operators.

    Vodacom says it’s difficult to determine the revenue generated as the invention was never treated in its income statement as a revenue-generating product. However, costs associated with “please call me” were treated with Vodacom’s other associated costs incurred for running other services.

    It also says it’s unclear which calls were induced by a “please call me” message and which were not — making it difficult to determine what does and doesn’t qualify as revenue generated by the invention.

    Vodacom is open to Makate’s team accessing its records and systems provided it agrees that the company is satisfied with the identity and pedigree of Makate’s expert, its records will be protected for competitive reasons and strict confidentiality measures are in place when it comes to Vodacom’s subscribers.

    • This article was originally published on Moneyweb and is used here with permission
    Nkateko Nyoka Nkosana Makate Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleIt’s a good time to be Elon Musk
    Next Article Corruption threatens to tear ANC apart

    Related Posts

    Saboteurs threaten South Africa’s power supply

    20 May 2022

    Prosus to sell Russia’s Avito

    20 May 2022

    Curro pilots artificial intelligence for learning in its schools

    20 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Fast-rising fintech Bankingly closes $11m investment round

    20 May 2022

    Creating an effective employer value proposition for the new era of work

    20 May 2022

    Why fibre is the new utility – and what it means for South Africa

    19 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.