Vodacom must pay ‘Please Call Me’ inventor
The man who came up with the idea for ‘Please Call Me’ won’t have to send anyone a ‘Please Call Me’ after winning his claim on Tuesday for compensation from Vodacom for his role as the mastermind behind the idea.
Nkosana Makate, a former Vodacom employee, had claimed that he had taken the idea, which has rung up millions of extra profits for the company, to Vodacom and sought a multi-million rand settlement. The Constitutional Court made the connection on Tuesday and found in his favour.
The service allows users who do not have airtime, or do not want to use their airtime, to send a message for free to another user asking them to call. The free messages tapped into a lucrative revenue stream for Vodacom. Not only do they usually result in someone making a call, the messages also carry advertisements, surely a nice little earner.
Vodacom is reported to be studying the verdict, which also gives the company 30 days to agree a settlement with Makate. - ANA