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Nkosana Makate

Summary

Nkosana Makate (born 1977) is a South African who proposed the "Buzz" idea to Vodacom.[1] His idea consisted of sending a free message to other Vodacom users in order to request that they call you, even if you do not have enough credit available to do so.[2] Nkosana Makate shared the concept with his employer, but never received payment for it. He laid a charge against Vodacom and won the case against them after an 8-year battle.[citation needed]

Legal case edit

Vodacom started their clone of MTN's Call Me Service which they later renamed to Please Call Me service in 2001.[3] A 2014 judgement in the South Gauteng High Court supported Makate's claim to having originated Please Call Me. It also rejected former CEO Alan Knott-Craig's claim that he had come up with the idea of the messaging service. Yet the High Court found against Makate, holding that Geissler had not had the authority to promise Makate such compensation and that the debt would have expired (in legal terms, been prescribed) within three years.

Makate appealed the case, and later took it to the Constitutional Court. In April 2016, Justice Chris Jafta found in Makate's favour and against Vodacom.[1]

Vodacom clearly did not want to mention that MTN launched and had patented the Call Me Service[4] a year prior to Vodacom launching a clone of MTN's service. Ari Kahn a consultant at MTN had created the service.[5] In 2007 MTN let the patent for the Call Me lapse.

In a major win for 'Please Call Me' creator, Kenneth Nkosana Makate, in February 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Vodacom's appeal, ordering them to pay him 5-10% of the service's total revenue over the past 18 years.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "One on one with 'Please Call Me' inventor, Makate". eNCA. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Please call me - send a call back when out of airtime". myvodacom.secure.vodacom.co.za.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "How Nkosana Makate won the Please Call Me case". Moneyweb. 28 April 2016.
  4. ^ "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SENDING A MESSAGE TO A RECIPIENT". Scribd.
  5. ^ "'Please call me' service started at MTN - Ari Kahn". Times Live. 31 January 2019.
  6. ^ Areff, Compiled by Ahmed. "'Please Call Me' saga: Court orders Vodacom to make enormous payout offer within one month". Business. Retrieved 7 February 2024.