You don’t
need to be a literary scholar and adept at Shakespearean foreshadowing to see
that this was coming.
City of San Francisco attorney
David Chiu has filed a lawsuit against the city of Oakland for its proposed
name change to its airport.
The airport
in Oakland is set to be re-named “San Francisco Bay Oakland International
Airport,” which attorneys say is a “false designation of origin.”
The
lawsuit states, “The Metropolitan Oakland International Airport seeks to
increase passengers and profits by rushing to unlawfully incorporate San
Francisco International Airport’s (SFO) trademarked name into its own. Oakland
Airport’s actions ignore SFO’s longstanding protected mark, brand, and
identity, violate federal and state intellectual property law, and disregard
the legal infringement and consumer confusion its actions create. Oakland
Airport’s hasty and unnecessary efforts and refusal to engage in discussions of
alternative names have left the City and County of San Francisco no choice but
to bring this complaint against Defendant City of Oakland, acting by and
through its Board of Port Commissioners for federal trademark infringement and
false designation of origin and unfair competition.”
That’s a mouthful, The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and already Port of Oakland
attorney Mary Richardson said travelers know the Bay Area well enough to
realize that “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” is located in
Oakland.
“SFO cannot lay claim to the geographically-descriptive
term ‘San Francisco,’ let alone claim exclusive rights to the San Francisco Bay,”
she said. “The Port trusts that travelers understand that the San Francisco Bay
— like virtually every other major metropolitan area throughout the world — can
contain more than one airport. The Port will take all reasonable measures to
ensure clarity for travelers with respect to OAK’s geographic location and
distinctiveness.”
It appears that the city of Oakland is trying to lure more
visitors by incorporating the name change. The lawsuit demands a jury trial. If
that is granted, it will take a while to empanel a jury to decide the case.
Despite the potential for confusion, at least one airline
has begun using the new name.
“This
new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the
travel industry for the entire region,” Chiu said.
The lawsuit states, “Defendant’s proposal to include ‘San
Francisco’ at the front of its new name, closely followed by the words
‘International Airport’ is problematic, as it will almost certainly cause
confusion among consumers and the public generally. Travelers will very likely
be confused and book tickets to the unintended airport.”
It is not known what other name changes were proposed.
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