An out-of-court agreement has been reached between 'Please Call Me' inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom, after the cell giant went to court to apply for a gag order against him, prohibiting the dissemination of any information regarding settlement negotiations between them.

The negotiations have still not been completed after Makate won a drawn-out battle with Vodacom, which has gone on for more than 10 years, over compensation for the 'Please Call Me' product. The Constitutional Court ruled that Vodacom must pay the inventor in 2016, notes a News24 report.

Makate developed the ‘Please Call Me’ product in November 2000.

Vodacom approached the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) yesterday, seeking an interdict to prohibit Makate from disclosing any information to outside parties. The matter was not argued in court because both parties reached an agreement and a draft order was compiled to be put into effect by Judge Natvarial Ranchod.

In the order, Makate has undertaken not to disclose confidential issues as defined in the confidential agreement. He is also not allowed to discuss the content of the negotiations with any third parties.

The order also noted that a complaint has been lodged with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission relating to the turning down of an official request, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, lodged by Makate, to get specific paragraphs of a KPMG forensic investigation report from November 2008.

The report allegedly contains crucial information that will help Makate get paid. KPMG said the order against Vodacom did not apply to it and Makate will have to go to court again to compel its disclosure. Makate reportedly told News24 that he was happy with the order, but described the court application as an unnecessary bullying tactic.

Full News24 report

Reports that Vodacom made a R10m offer to Makate have featured in the court papers, says a report in The Star. Vodacom took Makate to court after he allegedly revealed some contents of negotiations, which included a R10m offer the company made to him. In its court papers, Vodacom argued that Makate’s public utterance could potentially ‘cause irreparable harm’ to its reputation. The information Vodacom referred to included financial and commercial information central to the negotiations. The court application was made in the wake of a newspaper report in April that Makate had received a R10m offer from Vodacom.

‘The manner in which the respondent discussed the applicant’s offer of R10m was designed to create support for the notion that it was wholly inadequate and a contemptible offer,’ Vodacom argued.

The company said the disclosure of such information was in contradiction to the confidentiality clause the two parties agreed to. Vodacom also cited a radio interview Makate had on Metro FM, in which he reiterated that a R10m offer was ‘crazy’.

Full report in The Star (subscription needed)