The city of Oakland officially changed the name of its
airport but also got in one more shot at neighboring San Francisco.
The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners
approved the name change of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport to San
Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.
But the saga between the two cities isn’t
over yet.
The
city of San Francisco sued Oakland last month for copyright infringement. Now
Oakland has answered the complaint by filing a counterclaim. Oakland has denied
any trademark infringement. It has asked a judge to declare that there were no
copyright violations.
This
should make for an interesting court battle.
Mary
Richardson, attorney for the Port of Oakland,
said "The San Francisco City Attorney's decision to pursue
litigation is an attempt to stop consumer education, prevent expanded air
travel options for Bay Area residents and visitors, and is a misguided use of
San Francisco taxpayer dollars. SFO's lawsuit is a disappointing and
anticompetitive effort to discourage competition and choice, and we are
confident the Court will agree."
Oakland
officials have maintained that the name change is not to usurp the rights of
San Francisco International Airport, but rather to help create a new identity
for the city of Oakland.
Oakland
denies that any name change will create confusion among travelers. It uses
London, Paris and Beijing as cities with multiple airports using the city name.
In the United States, there are at least two airports in Dallas and Chicago
that start with the city name.
Jen
Kwart, a spokesperson for San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, said San
Francisco will file for a preliminary
injunction.
The name change has been under
consideration by Oakland for a while.
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