Hard to determine âPlease Call Meâ compensation - advocate
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Pretoria - While the issue of what is reasonable compensation for a brilliant idea is the essence of Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate s case, it s like asking what is the length of a piece of string â there is no obvious answer.
This is the argument of advocate Wim Trengove SC, acting on behalf of Vodacom.
The cellphone giant is adamant that the R47 million offered to Makate is âover generousâ.
The counsel acting for Vodacom argued on the third day of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, proceedings that Judge Wendy Hughes could only overturn this amount if she could find that Vodacom chief executive Shameel Joosub acted unreasonably when he decided that this was fair compensation.
âPlease Call Meâ inventor Nkosana Makate wants his billions from Vodacom
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Pretoria - What Vodacom once described as a brilliant idea led to the betrayal of its inventor, legal counsel acting for âPlease Call Meâ inventor Nkosana Makate argued yesterday
In the saga that has been going on for nearly 21 years, Makate again turned to court to get what he claimed was owed to him â not the R47 million as calculated by Vodacom, but rather closer to R10 billion, without interest.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, is presiding over Makateâs review application over the next three days in which he is asking that the R47m which Vodacom claimed is owed to him be reviewed and set aside.
Mind boggling Vodacom does not know how much it made from âPlease Call Meâ invention - advocate
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Pretoria - On the first day, Advocate Gilbert Marcus SC, told Judge Wendy Hughes that she must put an end to this saga running more than 20 years and determine what is owed to Nkosana Makate.
While Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub came to the conclusion that R47 million was a fair amount, the Makate camp is of the opinion that closer to R10 billion was more to the point.
Marcus argued that in the light of how Vodacom has dealt with the matter in the past, it would be inappropriate to send the matter back to the CEO to determine a new amount. But, he said, if the judge chose to remit the matter back to Vodacom, she should issue strict guidelines on how the CEO should exercise his powers.
Nkosana Makate Please Call Me inventor Photo: Leon Sadiki
Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub is not opposing the application to review the R47 million compensation offered to Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate.
Vodacom maintains that Joosub acted reasonably in determining that Makate should receive 47 million.
Vodacom proposed the model that 20% be given to Makate for each call made after a Please Call Me was sent within an hour. Makate says Vodacom was not transparent when reaching the proposed model.
Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub took an insightful and reasonable approach in offering R47 million compensation to Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate, the company s legal team argued on Wednesday.
Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate wants closer to R10bn
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In a saga that has been ongoing for nearly 21 years, the inventor of âPlease Call Meâ, Nkosana Makate, yet again turned to court to get what is owed to him - not the R47 million as calculated by Vodacom, but rather closer to R10 billion, without interest, he said.
The Gauteng High Court Pretoria, is presiding over Makateâs review application over the next three days.
While counsel are presenting their case from offices at Menlyn Corporate Park, Judge Wendy Hughes is hearing the matter virtually.
Armed with a hefty team of senior advocates, Makate said that he is confident about the success of his application.