By Blake Brittain
April 28 (Reuters) – The City of San Francisco and the Port of Oakland have settled their trademark dispute over the use of “San Francisco” in the Oakland airport’s name, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The Port of Oakland had previously decided to change its airport’s name to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” San Francisco argued in a lawsuit that the name change would cause confusion with its San Francisco International Airport.
The agreement allows the Port of Oakland to call its airport “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport” but limits its usage of “San Francisco” and “International,” the press release said.
“We’re proud Oakland fought for, and preserved the right to retain our airport’s full name that puts Oakland first and recognizes OAK’s location on the San Francisco Bay,” Port of Oakland attorney Mary Richardson said in a statement.
San Francisco city attorney David Chiu said the city was “pleased that we could come to a mutual resolution that accomplishes Oakland’s goals while still protecting the San Francisco International Airport trademark.”
The Port of Oakland announced plans to change the name of its airport in March 2024. San Francisco sued Oakland for infringing its airport’s trademarks that April, arguing the Oakland airport’s similar new name would confuse travelers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson temporarily blocked the name change later that year, finding “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” would likely mislead consumers into thinking it is affiliated with the city of San Francisco.
The port had argued that the new name accurately described the airport’s location on San Francisco Bay, and said airports in Chicago, Dallas, London, Paris and Beijing peacefully shared their cities’ names.
Oakland’s airport is 12 miles (19 km) east of San Francisco and just over 30 miles from San Francisco International Airport.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
