Amanj Ali, the owner of Colorado's Chicken in Bury, Greater Manchester, recently had a problem with electric car maker Tesla. He lost a trademark dispute and had to pay £12,000. Mr. Ali had registered the trademark "Tesla Chicken & Pizza" for his takeaway business. But Tesla wanted to protect its own trademark for food and drink services in the UK. They said Mr. Ali's trademark would use their reputation. Tesla didn't say anything about it, but Mr. Ali said they didn't object to his trademark when they had the chance.

Mr. Ali said he named his business after Nikola Tesla, a smart Serbian-American inventor. In November 2021, he got an email from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). It said Tesla tried to register the name "Tesla" for the same kind of business as his. Mr. Ali didn't want that because he thought it would hurt his own trademark and his business.

As expected, in September 2022, Tesla asked to cancel Mr. Ali's trademark. They said his use of "Tesla" would unfairly use their good reputation. The IPO agreed with Tesla, and Mr. Ali had to pay £4,000. He had already spent about £8,000 on lawyers. Tesla said they had a good reputation in the food and drinks industry because of a tweet by Elon Musk in 2018. He said they wanted to open a restaurant with the Tesla name. But the IPO didn't think that was a good enough reason.

Mr. Ali said he would have appealed the decision if he had the money. But the two-year-long problem had already caused him a lot of stress. He was frustrated because he's a small business owner and Tesla is a big company owned by the richest man in the world. According to papers from the court, Tesla said Mr. Ali offered to sell his trademark for £750,000. But Mr. Ali said that was a mistake from his old lawyer. He said he never wanted to sell his trademark to Tesla and would only think about it if they offered a lot more money.

Original news source: Bury chicken shop boss loses £12,000 in Tesla trademark row (BBC)

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. They should try to include important details and key information. After both partners have had a chance to summarize, they can compare their summaries and discuss any differences or additional information they included.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Each group will discuss and debate the following question: "Do you think Tesla was justified in asking to cancel Mr. Ali's trademark?" After the discussion, each group will conduct a quick opinion poll within their group to determine the majority opinion. Then, each group will share their findings with the class.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns selecting a vocabulary word from the article and drawing a quick sketch of it on a piece of paper. Their partner must then guess the word based on the sketch alone. After each round, partners will switch roles.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: In small groups, students will brainstorm and discuss the pros and cons of trademark protection. They should consider both the perspective of small business owners like Mr. Ali and large companies like Tesla. After their discussion, each group will share their main points with the class.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns making predictions about what might happen next in the case between Mr. Ali and Tesla. They should base their predictions on the information from the article and their own reasoning. After they have shared their predictions with each other, they can discuss any similarities or differences in their predictions.

Amanj Ali, the ? of Colorado's Chicken in Bury, Greater Manchester, recently had a problem with electric car ? ?. He lost a trademark dispute and had to pay £12,000. Mr. Ali had ? the trademark "Tesla Chicken & Pizza" for his takeaway business. But Tesla wanted to protect its own trademark for food and drink services in the UK. They said Mr. Ali's trademark would use their reputation. Tesla didn't say anything about it, but Mr. Ali said they didn't object to his ? when they had the chance. Mr. Ali said he named his business after Nikola Tesla, a ? Serbian-American ?. In November 2021, he got an email from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). It said Tesla tried to ? the name "Tesla" for the same kind of business as his. Mr. Ali didn't want that because he thought it would hurt his own trademark and his business. As expected, in September 2022, Tesla asked to cancel Mr. Ali's trademark. They said his use of "Tesla" would unfairly use their good reputation. The IPO agreed with Tesla, and Mr. Ali had to pay £4,000. He had already spent about £8,000 on lawyers. Tesla said they had a good reputation in the food and drinks ? because of a ? by Elon Musk in 2018. He said they wanted to open a restaurant with the Tesla name. But the IPO didn't think that was a good ? reason. Mr. Ali said he would have appealed the ? if he had the money. But the two-year-long ? had already caused him a lot of stress. He was frustrated because he's a small business owner and Tesla is a big company owned by the richest man in the world. According to papers from the court, Tesla said Mr. Ali ? to sell his trademark for £750,000. But Mr. Ali said that was a mistake from his old ?. He said he never ? to sell his trademark to Tesla and would only think about it if they offered a lot more money.

1. What is a trademark and why is it important for businesses?
2. How do you think Mr. Ali felt when he had to pay £12,000 for the trademark dispute?
3. Do you think Tesla was right to protect its own trademark? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you received an email from a big company asking to cancel your trademark?
5. Do you think it's fair that Mr. Ali had to pay £4,000 and spend £8,000 on lawyers? Why or why not?
6. What do you think about Mr. Ali's claim that Tesla didn't object to his trademark when they had the chance?
7. If you were in Mr. Ali's position, would you have appealed the decision? Why or why not?
8. How do you think Mr. Ali's business was affected by the trademark dispute?
9. Do you think it's fair for a big company to go after a small business owner's trademark? Why or why not?
10. How do you think Mr. Ali felt when he found out Tesla wanted to open a restaurant with the Tesla name?
11. Do you think it's important for businesses to have a good reputation? Why or why not?
12. How do you think Mr. Ali felt when he realized he couldn't afford to appeal the decision?
13. What would you do if a big company offered to buy your trademark for a lot of money?
14. Do you think it's fair for a small business owner to ask for a lot of money for their trademark? Why or why not?
15. How do you think Mr. Ali's experience with Tesla has affected his view of big companies?

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