It was foggy, about that!
The city of San Francisco has been accused of “bullying” after slamming the nearby city of Oakland with a trademark lawsuit and has issued a stern warning to Crossbay rivals to “stay away” from its brand.
The turmoil along the bay has left the airport (OAK), which Gertrude Stein once described as “there's nothing there,” formerly known as “Metropolitan Oakland International Airport” and the broader “San Francisco – Begins after rebranding to Bay Oakland International Airport.
Port of Oakland officials said the move was aimed at better informing travelers of the airport's location.
“The convenience and ease of travel through OAK will not change because of our name,” Craig Simon, the port's interim aviation director, assured reporters earlier this year.
“OAK is the closest major airport to 58 percent of the Bay Area population. The counties closest to OAK have a combined population of 4.1 million people, compared to San Francisco County and San Mateo County, which have a combined population of 1.5 million people. It lets the world know who we serve,” Simon explained.
But critics, including neighbors across the bridge, were less impressed.
Now, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu is calling for a ground stop at the port, accusing it of “deliberately and knowingly exploiting the chaos,” CNN Travel reported. reported.
“We are already seeing confusion among travelers regarding the use of Auckland's new name. This was completely predictable and avoidable,” Chiu said in a statement released to the media.
“San Francisco has invested millions of dollars to make San Francisco International Airport the world-class airport it is today. We have built a great brand that we must protect. “We have a trademark. We should use that and distance ourselves from the San Francisco brand,” the city's attorney general said.
Port officials quickly shot down this claim.
“The San Francisco City Attorney's Office's recent request for injunctive relief is not based on any legal basis and is a continuation of tactics rooted in publicity and anti-competitive bullying,” Port attorney Mary Richardson said in a statement. He refuted it in a statement.
“Ports of Auckland, which owns and operates OAK, has filed a counterclaim against the SFO but has not yet received a response.Indeed, at the SFO’s request, OAK agreed to an extension for the SFO to respond to OAK’s claims. I was doing it.
“Unfortunately, it appears that the SFO has used the legal application as cover to create confusion and attempt to wipe OAK off the map,” Mr Richardson claimed.
The city's move comes as crime-plagued Oakland is reeling from the recent loss of three major league sports franchises.
The Athletics played their final game Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum before their controversial move to Las Vegas.
The Raiders left for Sin City in 2020. The Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco in 2019.
During the Athletics' final game against the Texas Rangers, the Post reported, “there were chants of 'Sell the team!' against owner John Fisher and fans who threw smoke bombs onto the field.”
