The owner of a chicken shop in Bury, Greater Manchester is facing a £12,000 bill following a trade mark dispute with electric car manufacturer, Tesla.
Amanj Ali applied to register the trade mark “Tesla Chicken & Pizza” in 2020 for use in his new takeaway. His application faced no objections and was subsequently registered.
However, in 2021 the Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) informed Ali that Elon Musk’s Tesla was applying for trade mark protection in relation to food and drink services. Ali opposed the mark out of concern that Tesla would attempt to bring invalidity proceedings against him should its mark be registered.
Ali’s concerns were later confirmed in 2022 when Tesla claimed that his chicken shop was taking advantage of their reputation and therefore applied to invalidate his ‘Tesla Chicken & Pizza’ mark.
The IPO sided with the car manufacturer in this matter, ordering Ali to pay Tesla £4,000. Having also incurred £8,000 in legal fees, Ali is facing a total loss of £12,000. Following the dispute, “Tesla Chicken & Pizza” has been renamed as “Colorado’s Chicken”.
If you have any questions relating to the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
