One of South Africa’s most significant legal battles is set to continue at the Constitutional Court. Nkosana Makate, the inventor of the widely used “Please Call Me” (PCM) service, will go head-to-head with Vodacom on Thursday, 21 November, in a high-stakes dispute over compensation for his groundbreaking idea.
Vodacom is challenging the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) ruling that set aside an R47 million offer made to Makate by the company’s CEO, Shameel Joosub, in 2019. The SCA had previously upheld a decision by the North Gauteng High Court, which determined that Makate was entitled to more than 5% of the revenue generated by his invention. Vodacom argued that its method of compensation, based on standard employee-employer relationships, was appropriate and aligned with industry practices for compensating employees’ contributions to product development.
However, the SCA rejected Vodacom’s stance, stating that the company was attempting to “unscramble the scrambled eggs” of an earlier agreement. Vodacom’s legal team argued that Makate’s claim is based on the premise that he is entitled to a percentage of all revenue the company earns from PCM as long as the service continues to generate income. They contend that Makate should receive reasonable compensation, not an indefinite royalty, and that the final decision on the amount of compensation lies with Joosub, as per the court’s instructions if the two parties fail to reach an agreement.
Makate, however, has dismissed the R47 million offer, asserting that he is entitled to a much larger sum—around R28 billion to R110 billion. His legal journey began in 2007 when he first demanded compensation for his idea, which was pitched to a Vodacom superior on 21 November 2000. This idea evolved into the “Please Call Me” service, which Vodacom launched in January 2001.
In his submission to the Constitutional Court, Makate highlighted that 38% of PCM messages are responded to within the first 24 hours. He proposes that he should receive 5% of the revenue from calls returned within the first hour, with Vodacom retaining 95% of that revenue. For calls responding to PCMs after the first hour, Vodacom would keep 100% of the revenue. Makate’s case will now be argued before the highest court in the country, as he seeks a resolution that could have a lasting impact on how intellectual property compensation is handled in South Africa.
