A Nairobi court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by Davidson Ivusa, a Kenyan innovator who claimed Safaricom copied his idea for its “Reverse Call” feature. The ruling, delivered on February 27, 2025, ends a three-year legal battle and raises concerns about how corporations handle unsolicited ideas from independent creators.
Ivusa alleged that in 2010, he pitched a concept called “Jichomoe” to Safaricom—a feature that would allow users to make calls without airtime. He claimed the telecom giant sat on the idea for years, only to roll out the service under a different name in April 2019, without his involvement.
Court Rules in Favor of Safaricom
Safaricom denied the accusations, arguing that “Reverse Call” was developed internally to meet a common customer need. The court agreed, ruling that Ivusa had voluntarily shared his idea without any confidentiality agreement or legal obligation from Safaricom’s side.
“The concept was sent unsolicited, and there was no evidence that the defendant undertook to hold it in trust or act in a fiduciary capacity,” stated Justice Mugambi.
Ivusa had sued on grounds of breach of trust, financial loss, and passing off—a legal term for falsely presenting someone else’s idea as your own. But the court found no basis for these claims and rejected the argument that Safaricom had unfairly benefited from Ivusa’s proposal.
No Copyright Violation Without Execution
The court also dismissed copyright infringement claims, emphasizing the difference between an idea and its execution. While Ivusa claimed ownership of “Jichomoe,” he failed to provide concrete evidence like source code, prototypes, or diagrams—only an email detailing the concept.
“Copyright law protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves,” Justice Mugambi ruled.
Similarly, the claim of passing off fell apart, as Ivusa couldn’t prove that “Jichomoe” had built any public recognition before Safaricom’s launch.
“There was no proof that consumers or industry stakeholders associated Safaricom’s Reverse Call feature with ‘Jichomoe’,” the ruling stated.
A Wake-Up Call for Innovators
This case highlights the gray area between idea-sharing and commercial execution, a recurring issue in Kenya’s fast-growing tech space, where startups frequently pitch ideas to major companies.
Safaricom has not yet issued an official statement on the ruling.
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