Johannesburg - Judgment was reserved at the Constitutional Court yesterday in a matter in which Vodacom is being sued for remuneration for an idea that was disclosed in return for payment in terms of an oral agreement.
Kenneth Nkosana Makate was employed by Vodacom as a trainee accountant.
In November 2000, he claimed he had conceived the Please Call Me idea, which he intended to sell to a willing buyer.
Makate approached Philip Geissler, a director, and they reached an oral agreement that Vodacom would experiment with the idea and if it proved commercially viable, Makate would be paid a share of the proceeds.
Vodacom implemented the idea and after Makate’s demands for it to honour the deal were not successful, he instituted a claim against it.
BUSINESS REPORT