Oakland, California’s attempt to change its airport’s name to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” drew a trademark lawsuit on Thursday from the city of San Francisco which said the new name will confuse travelers.
The proposed name-change, which received preliminary approval last week from the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, violates San Francisco’s registered federal trademark for “San Francisco International Airport,” the city’s lawsuit said.
The Oakland airport’s current name is “Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.”
“Travelers will very likely be confused and book tickets to the unintended airport,” resulting in “missed flights and connections,” said the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The name change will be especially confusing for international travelers who don’t speak English, an “essential part” of San Francisco airport’s consumer base, the city said. At least one airline, Azores Airlines, has already adopted the new Oakland airport name on its booking website, according to the complaint.
The cities sit on opposite sides of the bay, connected by the 8.4 mile-long San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, with the former on the west end and the latter on the east.
The proposed renaming doesn’t infringe San Francisco’s trademark, the Port of Oakland said in a statement in response to the suit. “We will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay,” the statement said. “We are standing up for Oakland and our East Bay community.
Prior Warning
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu had threatened to take legal action over the name change in an April 8 letter to port commissioners and the director of the airport. The complaint said San Francisco has attempted to engage in constructive dialogue with Oakland on multiple occasions to come up with alternative names and avoid litigation.
“We had hoped Oakland would come to its senses, but their refusal to collaborate on an acceptable alternative name leaves us no choice but to file a lawsuit,” Chiu said in a press release.
The San Francisco airport, operating on the west side of the bay, opened in 1927 and has used its “incontestable” trademark since 1954, the complaint said.
Oakland and the greater Alameda County government has defended the new name, arguing that the San Francisco Bay is a geographic reference to the nine-county region surrounding the northern California bay.
They also argue the new name will increase passenger traffic to the Oakland airport and boost economic activity.
Dergosits & Noah LLP and the City Attorney’s Office represents San Francisco.
The case City and County of San Francisco v. City of Oakland, N.D. Cal., 3:24-cv-02311, 4/18/24.
