Top court orders Vodacom to pay for SMS invention

Pulse Staff 10:42 - 26 April 2016

A branch South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken November 10, 2015.

Online news service Fin24 said that after years of litigation, the highest court in South Africa ordered Vodacom, a unit of Britain's Vodafone, to negotiate a payout amount with Nkosana Makate for inventing the "Please Call Me" service.

South Africa's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ordered mobile operator Vodacom to compensate the inventor of a free messaging system used by the company, local news services Fin24 and EWN said.

Online news service Fin24 said that after years of litigation, the highest court in South Africa ordered Vodacom, a unit of Britain's Vodafone, to negotiate a payout amount with Nkosana Makate for inventing the "Please Call Me" service.

Vodacom's spokesman Byron Kennedy told Fin24 that the firm was studying the court's ruling.