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Did Mek Mi Rich Steal Someone Else’s Idea to Get Rich?
posted (December 3, 2015)
Mek Mi Rich, it is the most recent lottery game on the scene, with only 14 months in operation. And while it may be popular with its half a million dollar jackpot, what if it was a stolen idea? That's what Corozal Business man Curtis Swasey is trying to convince the Supreme Court of.

So, is Mek Mi Rich and Swasey's hypothetical game, Super Slam Sunday, the same lottery game? That's what the Justice Courtney Abel will have to determine because according Swasey, the owners of Mek Mi Rich stole his idea for his Super Slam Sunday game, and enriched themselves from it.

He has accused BTL of breeching a non-disclosure agreement that the company had entered into with him. Swasey further claimed that BTL gave away his idea of lottery texting.

In this case, Swasey claims that the beneficiaries of BTL's supposed corporate generosity was Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega's Son, Andre Vega, and his business partner, Sunjay Hotchandani, the Directors of Mek Mi Rich. Today, Swasey and his attorneys, Kareem Musa and Wayne Piper, got their opportunity to make their case in the Supreme Court.

He was called as the first witness in the trial in which he was thoroughly cross examined by BTL's attorney, Magali Perdomo, who pressed the point that Swasey cannot claim the ownership of this by intellectual property because he did not submit any patents for it. In fact, Perdomo asserts that a developer outside of Belize patented a idea of SMS lottery texting back in 2004. She pressed him on that point for an extended period of her cross-examination until he finally conceded that he could not prove that he owned the idea.

Perdomo pointed out that he has sued BTL and the owners of Mek Mi Rich all on an inference that their lottery texting platform is a carbon copy of his. She also put it to him that he has no proof that BTL breeched the non-disclosure agreement shared the details of his idea to Vega and Hotchandani.

Next up on the stand was BTL Representative, Caryn Wilson who asserted to the court that BTL kept requesting the information from Swasey on how the technical and operational aspects of his game would work. She She says that they communicated with Swasey over a period of time questioning him on the different aspects of the game, but they could not reveal to him that they already knew how it worked because that meant that they would have been breaking a non-disclosure agreement from the previous client.

Kareem Musa cross examined her and asserted that the back and forth communication was proof that the company's technical team had no idea how to get this system up and running, and it was Swasey who taught them how to get it to work. Wilson rejected that suggestion.

Then, it was time for the Mek Mi Rich Directors to testify in court. Andre Vega took the stand and told the court under oath that his company, had to work with technical experts outside of Belize to consult over a year with BTL on how to get their lottery texting game into operation. He also asserted that Mek Mi Rich's platform was developed within their company and not with the knowledge of Swasey's idea.

Musa then cross examined him and suggested if there had been any such back and forth communication with these supposed experts, communication would have been exhibited in the trial as proof of the development process for over a year. Moreover, Musa suggested to him that BTL company representatives handed them Swasey's method, which they reaped the commercial benefits of. Vega rejected those suggestions and reiterated in front of the judge that Curtis Swasey's idea was not stolen. His testimony was corroborated by his business partner, Sunjay Hotchandani.

So, all that took place in the 5 hour hearing, and as soon as Justice Courtney Abel adjourned the case late this evening, we spoke with all the attorneys outside of court. Interestingly, they were all claiming that it was going just as they had hoped it would:

Kareem Musa, Attorney for Kurtis Swasey
"I can't get too much into the details of the case at this time. As you know it's still before the courts. I have no problem commenting after the trial has completed. But no doubt we are very pleased with what was presented to the court today. It went exactly how we wished it to go. So, I don't think it could have gone any better for us."

Magali Perdomo, Attorney for BTL
"We are very confident. The case went excellent for us. What the court has asked for Mr. Swasey to do is to show that he is the owner of lottery texting. So in this great wide world of bright minds that you Mr. Kurtis Swasey created the idea of texting and lottery via SMS. He did not prove that today. He has also failed to prove that my client Belize Telemedia Limited breached the confidentiality agreement with him. He did not show an email, he did not show a text. He couldn't provide the conversation. So he totally failed on that point to show a breached on the part of Belize Telemedia Limited. So, we are very confident in the way the case is proceeding for us."

Daniel Ortiz
"Would you reject the assertion that while you've probably poked some holes in the defense of the defendant, your client has not established a clear line - a smoking gun, that his idea was stolen?"

Kareem Musa, Attorney for Kurtis Swasey
"Well I think if you look and again, you are probing me to go a little further and I should. But when you look at the evidence, you can see clearly where over the course of two and a half years Mr. Swasey was providing technical information regarding lottery texting in Belize via BTL cellular network. So I think that was clearly established that he was the one who came up with the concept. They had no clue about that concept and that is evident by their response emails to Mr. Swasey."

Naima Barrow, Attorney for MMR Belize
"I think it's clear. The claimant himself recognized that the concept of SMS texting to purchase lottery tickets or boledo doesn't belong to him. That is what the intellectual property is required for and the designs are different. So we feel as though we are in a comfortable place at the end of the hearing. We have submissions to make and it will be concluded until February. So I can't say with any certainty how this case will go. But we are very comfortable where we are now."

The evidence taking phase of the trial is now over. All 3 parties will submit written submissions and the case will then go back to court on February 16, 2016.

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