Please Call Me Inventor Wins Compensation Battle Against Vodacom
Kenneth Nkosana Makate, the inventor of the Please Call Me service, achieved a significant victory as telecom giant Vodacom lost its appeal regarding fair compensation for his invention. The ruling, handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal, mandates Vodacom to provide adequate compensation to Makate for the revenue generated by his invention.
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Reports indicate that Makate conceived the idea for Please Call Me nearly two decades ago while in a long-distance relationship with his then-girlfriend, who is now his wife. His innovation, implemented during his tenure at Vodacom, proved to be immensely profitable for the telecommunications company, generating billions of rands in revenue.
The recent court ruling compels Vodacom to reassess its compensation offer to Makate, which initially amounted to R47 million when the initial judgment was rendered in 2019. Now, Vodacom has been instructed to recalculate Makate’s compensation within a month, acknowledging the true value of his invention.
In an electronic copy of the judgment, the court ordered Vodacom to cover the costs of the appeal, including expenses related to legal counsel. Furthermore, the court instructed a reassessment of reasonable compensation for Makate, factoring in the duration of a hypothetical contract extending from March 1, 2001, to February 28, 2019, considering the time value of money at an average inflation rate of 5%.
Despite the court’s ruling, Vodacom has expressed its intention to challenge the decision by appealing to a higher court.