San Francisco and neighboring Oakland have lengthy maintained a pleasant rivalry, whether or not over sports activities or tacos. However a spat over an airport identify is taking the feud to new heights.
San Francisco on Thursday sued Oakland over that metropolis’s resolution to alter the identify of its airport to the San Francisco Bay Oakland worldwide airport.
San Francisco is accusing Oakland of trademark infringement, and arguing the change would create “client confusion”.
The airport, at the moment referred to as Oakland worldwide airport, is attempting to “enhance passengers and income by speeding to unlawfully incorporate San Francisco Worldwide Airport’s trademarked identify into its personal”, the lawsuit states.
The board of commissioners in Oakland voted final week to maneuver ahead with a reputation change – a last vote is scheduled for Could. Officers with the Oakland airport have mentioned vacationers who are usually not aware of the Bay Space typically select to fly into San Francisco, not realizing that Oakland is in some circumstances nearer to their vacation spot.
“This identify will make it clear that OAK is the closest main airport, for 4.1 million folks, three nationwide laboratories, the highest public college within the nation and California’s wine nation,” Barbara Leslie, the port fee president, mentioned after the vote.
Officers in San Francisco voiced their dismay with the plan instantly, arguing that it will confuse vacationers, significantly these coming from in a foreign country and people who don’t converse English, and will harm the journey business within the area.
The San Francisco mayor, airport director and board of supervisors have all come out in opposition to the identify change.
“I like Oakland, however Oakland is Oakland. It’s not San Francisco,” Scott Wiener, the state senator who represents San Francisco, mentioned on X.
Supporters of Oakland’s plan have identified that San Francisco’s airport just isn’t situated within the metropolis, however within the close by neighborhood of Millbrae – and that the Oakland airport is in any case situated on the San Francisco Bay.
In an announcement in regards to the lawsuit filed on Thursday, town lawyer for San Francisco mentioned that town had been notified of the proposal solely half-hour earlier than Oakland introduced it to the general public in March and that Oakland had “refused to interact”.
“We had hoped Oakland would come to its senses, however their refusal to collaborate on an appropriate various identify leaves us no selection however to file a lawsuit to guard SFO’s trademark,” mentioned David Chiu, town lawyer. “We need to see the complete Bay Space thrive as a vacationer vacation spot and broaden our choices to guests, however the renaming just isn’t a authorized or sensible approach to go about it.”
Oakland officers say they are going to transfer forward with the change.
“OAK’s proposed renaming doesn’t infringe upon SFO’s mark,” the Port of Oakland mentioned in an announcement. “We are going to vigorously defend our proper to say our spot on the San Francisco Bay.”
Whereas San Francisco officers weren’t laughing, the web was.
The Related Press contributed to this report