The city of San Francisco on Thursday filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the city of Oakland over the planned renaming of Oakland's airport, according to a news release from the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.
Last week, Port of Oakland commissioners unanimously approved an initial proposal to rename the airport San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. The current full name is Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said the new name not only infringes on San Francisco International Airport's brand, but it also will create "widespread passenger confusion" and likely travel mishaps for those unaccustomed to the area as well as those whose primary language is not English.
Chiu said San Francisco officials offered to work with Oakland on alternative names, but it declined.
"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 to protect SFO’s trademark," Chiu said in a statement. "This new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the travel industry for the entire region. We are already seeing at least one airline use the new name, indicating that SFO has already suffered economic harm.
"We want to see the entire Bay Area thrive as a tourist destination and expand our offerings to visitors, but the renaming is not a legal or practical way to go about it," Chiu added.
Port of Oakland officials have said modifying the airport's name is part of an effort to improve passengers' experience at the Oakland airport.
A Portuguese airline has already started using Oakland's proposed new name for bookings. Chiu believes Oakland is deliberately trying to pull business away from San Francisco, which he says is costing them money.
"They've had its trademark for so long it’s incontestable under federal law," he said. "This proposal is diverting those who are unfamiliar with Bay Area Geography who may think that they're going to SFO to go to a different airport. We have invested over the years billions of dollars in our reputation and our services, and Oakland is trying to profit off that."
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"We are standing up for Oakland and the East Bay," Port Commission President Barbara Leslie said after the initial approval. "This will boost inbound travelers’ geographic awareness of the airport by highlighting the airport’s location on the San Francisco Bay."
Defending their decision, Oakland International says the change is about clarifying that Oakland sits on the Bay too, and says it will help draw more airline routes to the city. They also say they're not backing down.
"The Ports proposed remaining does not infringe upon SFO’s mark. SFO can not lay claim to the geographically descriptive term of San Francisco, let alone claim exclusive rights to the San Francisco Bay," Robert Bernardo, a spokesperson for the Oakland airport, said. "This is all about Oakland. This is a pro-jobs move that we are doing. Oakland Airport trusts travelers to know that the San Francisco Bay is just like virtually every other major metropolitan area in the world that can have more than one airport."
Some travelers Thursday said they agree that the change could cost confusion.
"If you are not well traveled you could get confused. You think ‘oh, I’m going to San Francisco' and you wind up in Oakland and visa versa," said Tony Fontana of Texas.
But others don’t believe it makes a difference and say taxpayer money should be used for something more useful than a court fight.
"I think both San Francisco and Oakland are awesome places, I don’t mind a name that incorporates the whole area into this airport," said Mike Mahoney of Texas.
"It’s silly, waste of money, resources, time," said Joel Shawn, who lives in Los Angeles.
The Port of Oakland Commission is scheduled to hear a second reading of the proposal on May 9 before final approval.
Since the preliminary approval of the new name on April 11, however, at least one airline, Azores Airlines, already has been using the airport's proposed new name, the San Francisco City Attorney's Office said.
With the lawsuit, San Francisco is seeking an injunction to stop Oakland from using the new name and an order requiring Oakland to destroy any existing materials containing the new name.
