San Francisco sues Oakland International Airport over potential name change

San Francisco officials have followed through on their threat to sue the city of Oakland if it moved ahead with a name change for the Oakland International Airport.

A trademark infringement lawsuit was filed on Thursday in federal court by San Francisco city attorney David Chiu, alleging that Oakland would misuse its trademark by renaming its airport. This follows the city of Oakland's port commission vote last week to approve renaming Oakland International Airport to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.

Oakland airport officials say a name change is necessary, as the current name causes confusion for those flying into the Bay Area.

Supporters of the change say it will help those who would have otherwise chosen to fly into SFO instead of their airport, even if their destination is closer to the East Bay.

Still, the city of San Francisco is not okay with the name change, and while officials have attempted to collaborate with airport officials on alternative names, Chiu says they have been refused.

Chiu also refuted the point that the name change would cause less confusion, saying it would only further complicate things for travelers. The city’s lawsuit seeks to stop the name change and would require Oakland to destroy or transfer "all physical and digital assets containing the new name and pay any resulting damages and fees."

"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," Chiu said in a statement. "This new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the travel industry for the entire region. We are already seeing at least one airline use the new name, indicating that SFO has already suffered economic harm."

Now, the city attorney says that San Francisco was left with no other option but to take legal action. The city says it has owned the federal trademark on 'San Francisco International Airport' since 2012 and “SFO” since 2017.