In a landmark ruling, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered Vodacom to pay Kenneth Nkosana Makate a minimum of R29 billion for his innovative “Please Call Me” idea.
The court documents, reviewed by SurgeZirc SA, reveal that the Supreme Court has mandated Vodacom to compensate Makate between R28.99 billion and R55.37 billion. This amount far exceeds previous estimates based on Makate’s earlier statements and High Court filings.
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The exact wording of the Supreme Court’s ruling states that “the applicant is entitled to be paid 5%–7.5% of the total revenue of the [Please Call Me] product from March 2001 to the date of judgment by the Second Respondent, together with the Mora Interest thereon, alternatively interest in terms of Section 2A(5) of the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act.”
The order further specifies that “the total revenue of the PCM product shall be that set out in Model 9A, 9B.”
This ruling marks a significant victory for Makate, who has fought a lengthy legal battle to receive compensation for his groundbreaking idea.
The “Please Call Me” service allows users to send a free text message requesting a call back when they have insufficient airtime to make a call. The service has been widely used and has generated substantial revenue for Vodacom over the years.
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Vodacom now faces the substantial financial obligation of paying Makate the determined amount, which will have significant implications for the company’s financial standing. This ruling also sets a precedent for future cases involving intellectual property rights and fair compensation for inventors and innovators in South Africa.
