The City of San Francisco has sued the City of Oakland, claiming that its plan to rename its airport infringes its trademark and will “cause confusion.”
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed a federal lawsuit Thursday after the Port of Oakland Commission approved the plan Metropolitan Oakland International Airport will be renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
The lawsuit alleges that Oakland Airport is seeking to “increase passenger traffic and profit by rushing to illegally incorporate San Francisco Airport’s SFO trademark into its airport.”
Chiu claims the plan ignores SFO’s long-standing brand and identity and violates federal and state intellectual property laws.
“Oakland Airport’s hasty and unnecessary efforts and refusal to participate in the discussion regarding aliases leaves the City and County of San Francisco with no choice but to file this complaint against Defendant, the City of Oakland,” the complaint states. ing.
Chiu said in a statement: ABC News first reportedsaid they wanted Oakland to “come back to its senses” but refused to cooperate on a different name.
San Francisco City Attorney’s Office statement The lawsuit’s presenter said the name change was “very likely” to cause widespread confusion among passengers and cause travel accidents that could have been avoided.
“This new name will cause confusion and confusion for travelers and damage the travel industry across the region. We have already seen at least one airline using the new name, and the SFO has confirmed that It shows that economic damage has already been caused,” Chiu’s statement said. “We want the entire Bay Area to thrive as a tourist destination and expand our services to visitors, and a name change is not a legal or practical way to do that.”
The city of San Francisco has owned the U.S. federal trademark for “San Francisco International Airport” since the 1950s, according to the statement.
The city attorney’s statement also noted that Oakland only notified San Francisco of its renaming plans 30 minutes before the new name was announced to the public on March 29. He made multiple attempts to meet with Oakland city officials, but “did not receive a response.”
The Hill has reached out to the Port of Oakland Commission for comment.
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