The Bay Area is considered a cultural epicenter of Northern California. It consists of several major cities, including San Francisco and Oakland. For decades, the two cities have had this “Battle of the Bay” competition, usually regarding football and baseball games. With Oakland soon to no longer have any major sports teams, many residents assumed the battle would be over. Yet, the battle has moved to a new legal front over Oakland’s decision to change the name of it’s international airport.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chu has filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against the City of Oakland. This comes from the decision to rename the Oakland International Airport (OAK) to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. Chu previously threatened the lawsuit in early April, when the name change was first announced. The threat was met with a unanimous vote to move forward with the name change on April 11th.
Chu filed the lawsuit on April 17th, with the federal district court in San Francisco. It includes a copy of the certificate of registration issued to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in 2012. One airline, Portugal’s Azores Airlines, has already referred to OAK with the new name on their website. The new name is listed directly under SFO in the dropdown menu. Which could, understandably, cause confusion for travelers not familiar with the area or name change.
“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,” Chu said in a statement. “This new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the travel industry for the entire region.”
“In the eyes of the consuming public, this type of adjacent presentation of the two airports will very likely cause confusion about the location of [Oakland’s] airport, resulting in many travelers ending up at the unintended airport, and confused as to whether [Oakland’s] airport is affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by SFO,” San Francisco’s lawsuit reads. “This type of confusing commercial use is exactly what [San Francisco] is attempting to prevent by this action.”
“SFO cannot lay claim to the geographically-descriptive term ‘San Francisco,’ let alone claim exclusive rights to the San Francisco Bay,” Port Attorney Mary Richardson argued in a statement. “The Port trusts that travelers understand that the San Francisco Bay — like virtually every other major metropolitan area throughout the world — can contain more than one airport. The Port will take all reasonable measures to ensure clarity for travelers with respect to OAK’s geographic location and distinctiveness.”
We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
