In a world where people work for years to reap their fruits, you might say invention is the key to reduce long hustling but it seems with frauds of ideas, we might need a copy right law for idea suggestion because some inventors are watching their inventions being snatched away from them at big profits for the thieves
In home land situation,a young innovator has given Safaricom PLC 14 days to pay him for his innovative service the telco has allegedly been using or face the wrath of the law.
Denis Ireru Mbarire, a Certified Public Accountants (CPA) student at KCA University, claimed Safaricom took over an idea he proposed to the telco and started using it for financial gains without paying him.
Mbarire said he had presented to Safaricom his idea called Talk Mo, which the firm immediately started using under the name Auto Okoa Service in September 2018 until he wrote a protest letter.
“I sent a letter to Safaricom explaining the More talk idea, which is a service that advances customers an ‘Okoa Jahazi’ debt without disconnecting one’s call in the event your air time is depleted, on August 10, 2018, just a day after I had obtained copyright. I submitted it on the ‘Zindua’ platform. Safaricom however told me they had similar ideas only to launch it under a different name,” Mbarire lamented.
KCA University Students’ Association president, Isaac Wambua, on his part threatened to marshal all university students for a peaceful demo at Safaricom’s headquarters once the 14-day ultimatum lapses before their fellow comrade is compensated.
“The Association will not relent in calling for justice to the student. Even if the courts delay in serving justice, we will be steadfast and we must all rise and defend the rights of everybody. We will not sit back and watch seeing Safaricom oppress young innovators yet it’s reaping millions of profits using their innovative ideas,” Wambua said.
In a related incident, a former employee who invented Safaricom’s ‘Please Call Me’ demands KSh 45 billion in compensation for the use of the free SME service.
Kenneth Makate, a former employee of South Africa’s Vodacom, which owns 35% shares in Safaricom, was embroiled in a legal battle with the telco giant in his quest to reap the benefits of the callback service.
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