ConCourt dismisses Vodafone’s bid to join Please Call Me case

The Constitutional Court has rejected an attempt by UK-based Vodafone to join the Please Call Me case as a friend of the court.

The apex court dismissed the application by Vodafone on Friday.

“The Constitutional Court has considered the application for admission as amicus curiae. It has concluded that the application should be dismissed as no case has been made out for admission as amicus curiae. The Court has decided not to award costs

“Leave to be admitted as amicus curiae is refused,” the order read.

Please Call Me idea-man, Kenneth Makate, told the Sunday Times that it was a “massive victory” for him ahead of the second ConCourt case between him and Vodacom.

ALSO READ: ‘It’s patently false’: Vodacom says canning free Facebook has nothing to do with ‘Please Call Me’

Battle lines

Vodacom has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with Makate, who sued the telecom giant for a share of the proceeds from his intellectual property.

Estimates of Makate’s potential payout gained public attention after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) recently ordered Vodacom to pay him 5% of the total revenue generated from the service between 2001 and 2021.

This amounts to between R29 billion and R63 billion. If the SCA’s order is implemented, it would place Makate among the country’s richest individuals.

In a 66-page judgment penned by Judge Ashton Schippers, the Supreme Court reviewed and overturned Vodacom’s decision to offer R47 million to Makate as compensation for creating the Please Call Me service.

According to the judgment, Makate is entitled to receive 5% to 7.5% of the total revenue generated by the service over an 18-year period, with the amount to include interest.

Please call me

Makate came up with the Please Call Me service idea in 2000 while working as a trainee accountant at Vodacom. However, he had to go to court to be officially recognised as the inventor after former Vodacom chief executive Alan Knott-Craig claimed the credit in his 2009 autobiography, Second is Nothing.

Makate launched a protracted legal battle against Vodacom in 2008, seeking compensation for his idea.

The case eventually reached the Constitutional Court, which ruled in Makate’s favour and ordered Vodacom to negotiate with him.

In the meantime, Vodacom’s cheque book remains closed, with the Constitutional Court expected to hear the matter once again, with Vodafone being snuffed out of proceedings.

ALSO READ: ‘Please Call Me’ inventor awaiting calculations after SCA sets aside Vodacom’s R47m offer