The situation has heated up a week after Port of Oakland officials suggested they wanted to rebrand Oakland Airport by adding "San Francisco Bay" to its name. Now San Francisco is threatening legal action.
SF City Attorney David Chiu sent off a sternly worded letter to Port of Oakland commissioners Monday demanding that they abandon their name-change plan or else face legal action from San Francisco — because, Chiu says, this is trademark infringement for SFO.
"In addition to the immense confusion and chaos the renaming would cause for travelers and consumers generally, this proposal also infringes on SFO’s trademark,” Chiu said in a statement. “We want to see the entire Bay Area thrive as a tourist destination and expand our offerings to visitors, but this proposal is not a legal or practical way to go about it. If Oakland moves forward with this proposal, San Francisco will pursue legal action to prevent misuse of our trademark."
The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners made the announcement about the intended name change on March 29, about eight months after they said they were surveying travelers in order to better understand how to raise awareness of Oakland Airport's proximity to the greater Bay Area.
Their proposal: a name change to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
Last week, on April 1, SFO officials first made it known that the Port of Oakland should be considering no such thing. And today, SFO Airport Director Ivar C. Satero reiterated those objections, saying, "We share the City Attorney’s concern that this proposed renaming of Oakland International Airport will cause confusion and frustration for the traveling public, especially when considering the large number of international passengers served at Bay Area airports."
Satero added, "We support bringing a legal challenge, if necessary. I urge the Port of Oakland not to proceed with this proposal and hope they will work to find a solution that provides clarity, not confusion, for the travelers visiting the Bay Area."
The Port of Oakland has not yet responded to this latest legal threat. The commissioners, who are seeking to boost traffic through Oakland Airport in some fashion through this rebranding, are set to vote on the name change on Thursday.
Chiu's release goes on to say that the full name "San Francisco International Airport" has been in use since 1954, with "San Francisco Airport" dating back to 1927. The city has owned the trademark for "San Francisco International Airport" since 2012.
It does seem like it will be difficult to raise awareness of Oakland Airport's proximity to SF or the Bay without at least adding "Bay Area" to the name, but we'll have to see how this goes.
Stockton Airport tried to do something similar back in 2017, proposing a renaming to San Francisco-Stockton Regional Airport, and SFO similarly pushed back then.
Previously: SFO Officials Push Back On Proposed Name Change For Oakland Airport
