“The plaintiff’s proposal is so general that even if the defendant took that general idea they cannot be said to have infringed,” said High Court Judge Justice Mary Kasango in a case where two men claimed that the Okoa Jahazi idea was originally theirs but later “stolen” by Safaricom.
The two, Christopher Omare and Michael Otachi, had gone to court seeking direction on claims that the giant telecommunications company had infringed on their copyright after the launch of Okoa Jahazi product back in 2019.
In their submission to the court, the two claimed that they owned a mobile phone program known as Emergency Credit Service (ECS), that would enable a subscriber to the mobile network obtain emergency air time credit and those who might not wish to buy in available outlets credit for as little as Sh50 or Sh100.
They claimed that in November 2006, they forwarded their proposal to Safaricom together with an indemnity form but did not get any response only to see it being launched three years later. On dismissing the case, the Judge said that the proposal sent to Safaricom was “too general” and that it did not give detailed information about the product. “Apart from these general statements the proposals bear no other details of how that concept could be worked out,” the Judge added.
The ruling comes as a big win for Safaricom which has been living under the shadow that the idea “had been stolen” and was not its original product. It also gives Safaricom a go-ahead to make any modifications to the product as they deem fit.
The court further held that the Plaintiffs’ claim ought to be rejected for lack of originality in that the Plaintiff knew of the concept being used in Lesotho. In addition, the court held that the Plaintiff’s case would fail as they did not specify what the infringement was.
How Okoa Jahazi Works
The Okoa Jahazi service allows Safaricom PrePay subscribers to request an advance of mobile airtime in the amount of Ksh 10/-, 20/-,50/-, 100/-, 250/-, 500/-, and 1,000/- (the “Credit Advance”) which amount (less the service charge set) shall be credited to their PrePay account.
For providing the Credit Advance to the customer, Safaricom charges an advance fee of 10% for each request. The Credit Advance amount can only be used to make Safaricom to Safaricom voice calls and SMS, Safaricom voice calls and SMS to other local networks, internet browsing, international calls, and international SMS but cannot be shared through Sambaza.
READ: M-PESA: The Zero Rating Wave That Is Leading Kenyans In Embracing Cashless Transaction