Judge sides with San Francisco over Oakland airport name change

A federal judge yesterday (Tuesday) sided with San Francisco over Oakland in a legal dispute over a name change to Oakland's airport.

The Port of Oakland approved changing the city's airport name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport earlier this year. That prompted San Francisco's city attorney in September to ask for a preliminary injunction to halt the name change, saying it infringed on their trademark for San Francisco International Airport and confused travelers.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson on Tuesday sided with San Francisco. He said that it is likely to prevail in the pending court case on the claim that the name change "falsely implies affiliation, connection and association" between the two airports, which go by the three-letter codes of SFO and OAK.

The Port of Oakland, which oversees the city's airport, is reviewing the ruling.

The port said, "OAK is not associated with SFO, of course, but is rather a convenient and centrally located option for travelers throughout the Bay Area."

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement that city officials had worked with Oakland on alternative name changes for the airport, but were rebuffed.

Chiu added that the city was pleased with the judge’s ruling that SFO’s “brand should be legally protected from trademark infringement."

The judge's order blocks the use of San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport as a name in advertising, marketing or other services related to the airport, until the pending trial on the lawsuit between the two cities is resolved.