Oakland Intl. Airport Votes for Rename, Gets Sued by San Francisco

Image C/O Bloomberg / David Paul Morris

By Andrew Martinez Cabrera
Associate Editor

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On April 11, the Port of Oakland’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to rename their operating airport, the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK), to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” The following day, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously supported the name change. The success of the vote follows a March 29 announcement of the inevitable rename, in the hopes of “boosting geographical awareness” of OAK’s airport location. 

In their April 12 press release, Executive Director for the Port of Oakland, Danny Wan, explained that due to the lack of name recognition for OAK and the need to increase the economic wealth of the East Bay, the new rebrand will allow for “[easier travel] for thousands of people and help grow the local economy.” 

In the same April 12 press release, the Port of Oakland listed local businesses’ support for the renaming, many of which reside in Oakland, in addition to the visiting bureaus for Visit Berkeley, Visit Walnut Creek, and Visit Tri-Valley. Support for the rebrand exceeds the Bay Area, as big airliners such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Volaris have also vocalized their endorsement for the name change. These airliners hold large shares in OAK. For example, Southwest had the highest carrier share at 82.26% in a Feb. 2023 - Jan. 2024 window, estimated at 8,580 passengers, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

However, on April 18, the City of San Francisco filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Oakland. The lawsuit was filed by San Francisco’s City Attorney, David Chiu. Their cited complaints against the defendant (Oakland) include “Trademark Infringement (Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114)[,] (2) Unfair Competition/False Designation of Origin (Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)) [and] (3) Common Law Trademark Infringement[.]” 

Just as the Port of Oakland owns its OAK title, the city of San Francisco owns the federal trademark name of “San Francisco International Airport” or SFO. In addition to alleged trademark infringement, Chiu also alleges in the lawsuit that Oakland’s intention of using ‘San Francisco’ in its rename will “almost certainly cause confusion among consumers and the public generally,” internationally or domestically. Also opposing the change include airliners such as United Airlines, whose carrier shares at SFO are 43.34%. 

In response, the Port of Oakland has denied any sort of infringement due to the renaming of its airport. Port of Oakland’s attorney Mary Richardson told CNN that “San Francisco’s lawsuit is disappointing… We will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay. We are standing up for Oakland and our East Bay community.”

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