Vodacom has decided to take its fight with Nkosana Makate, “inventor” of the “please call me” service, on review to the constitutional court.
This comes after the supreme court of appeal on Tuesday rejected an appeal brought by the telecommunications operator against an earlier high court judgment that found it had not offered Makate enough by way of compensation for the service, which an earlier constitutional court judgment had found Makate had invented, despite claims it was actually invented at MTN.
“Vodacom notes the judgment of the supreme court of appeal of South Africa in the case of Vodacom (Pty) Ltd v Makate, which was handed down on 6 February 2024,” the operator said.
“Vodacom is surprised and disappointed with the judgment and will bring an application for leave to appeal before the constitutional court of South Africa.”
The supreme court dismissed a Vodacom application for leave to appeal against an earlier high court judgment, and ordered the operator’s CEO, Shameel Joosub, to make a new offer to Makate based on the assumption that Makate had an 18-year contract with the company.
If the appeal is not upheld by the constitutional court, it is likely that the case could end up costing Vodacom far more than the R47-million it had previously offered Makate in compensation.
According to the supreme court judgment, Makate is entitled to be paid 5-7.5% of the total revenue the “please call me” product generated over an 18-year period, from 2001 to 2019, plus interest. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media