San Francisco sues Oakland over plan to rename airport
Change intended to boost awareness is ‘very likely to cause confusion,’ city says.
The fight over a Bay Area airport name change just took a legal turn.
San Francisco has filed suit against Oakland to stop a proposal to rename Oakland International Airport as San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
Last week, the Port of Oakland’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the name change even after San Francisco officials threatened to sue, alleging trademark infringement.
“Those two names are clearly similar and very likely to cause confusion and thus makes for a clear infringement case,” said San Francisco City Atty. David Chiu.
According to public records, San Francisco International Airport was first registered as a trademark in 2012, was renewed as a trademark in 2022 and remains in good standing.
Oakland says the name change would bring geographic awareness to its airport and help sustain 30,000 jobs and $1.6 billion in revenue. Port officials cited a study showing that 30% of domestic travelers are unaware of the airport’s location and said this has harmed their ability to offer robust route options.
But Chiu argued that the change would hurt the San Francisco airport.
“From our perspective, Oakland is looking to profit off of San Francisco’s investments of billions of dollars over decades in our reputation, services and brand,” he said. “This is already starting to create confusion and economic harm to SFO.”
A lawsuit isn’t ideal, Chiu said, but he noted that the city has tried to negotiate alternate names with Oakland, to no avail.
“They first proposed this on March 29 . ... They gave us 30 minutes of advance warning,” Chiu said. Additional requests to meet have gone unanswered, he said.
Oakland International Airport officials said in a statement to The Times that the renaming does not infringe on SFO’s registered trademark.
“We will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay,” officials said. “We are standing up for Oakland and our East Bay community.”
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao declined to comment Thursday but has previously expressed support for the name change. In an earlier news release, she said the change was about “inviting travelers to discover all that Oakland and the region have to offer.”
Since the initial board vote, at least one airline has adopted the new name in its flight to the Bay Area. Azore Airlines, a Portuguese company, lists San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport as one option customers can select if they are searching for flights to San Francisco.
In addition to SFO, other San Francisco businesses have the name of the city in federally registered trademarks.
But Bruce Sunstein, a patent attorney and intellectual property strategist, said trademark infringement depends on “whether the usage creates a likelihood of confusion.”
“It would seem to me that San Francisco would have a reasonable argument here,” Sunstein said.
It’s not clear how long the lawsuit might drag out, but Chiu made it clear that the city is exploring all legal options to prevent Oakland’s initial vote of approval from proceeding to a second — and final — vote in May.
“We’re going to litigate this as long as it takes,” Chiu said.