Etisalat Nigeria has denied the claim of patent infringement allegation leveled against it by V-Exchange Ltd.
The management of V-Exchange claimed it sent a business proposal dated October 27, 2016 to Etisalat and subsequently met with Etisalat’s representatives on November 23, 2016, where it informed Etisalat of some of its products with a view to partnering with Etisalat and launching the products on its platform, but that Etisalat proceeded to unilaterally launch the products as ‘KwikCash’ without V-Exchange’s authorisation.
V-Exchange demanded for over N2billion from Etisalat as compensation.
In reaction to the allegation, Head, Environment Compliance and Public Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, Oluseyi Osunsedo, dismissed the allegation by V-Exchange Ltd as baseless and unfounded, while affirming Etisalat’s commitment to strict adherence to existing laws, industry regulations and best practice.
Osunsedo said KwikCash loan service, the product which according to V-Exchange was allegedly copied by Etisalat from its proposal, is owned and operated by a licensed financial institution, which was granted Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) approval to run the service on Etisalat’s network. The NCC approval is dated April 20th 2016, while the pilot launch of KwikCash service held on 18th July 2016.