The legal turmoil began in April when San Francisco officials sued for copyright infringement
San Francisco:
Lawsuits are underway in a dispute between two California airports over the right to use the name “San Francisco” – despite neither being in the city.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is suing the recently renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK), insisting that similar-sounding names could confuse potential passengers.
The lawsuit was met with a counterclaim from the Port of Oakland asking a judge to rule that its airport’s new moniker — which replaced “Oakland Metropolitan International Airport” — is not a copyright infringement.
“Changing ‘Metropolitan’ to ‘San Francisco Bay’ in Oakland Airport’s name accurately describes OAK’s geographic location in the Bay and presents the airport as an additional option for travel to the San Francisco Bay Area,” said the Port Attorney Mary Richardson on Thursday, announcing the lawsuit.
The San Francisco City Attorney’s decision to pursue litigation “is an attempt to impede consumer education, prevent the expansion of air travel options for Bay Area residents and visitors, and is a misguided use of taxpayer dollars from San Francisco,” she added.
The legal turmoil began in April when San Francisco authorities sued the company for copyright infringement, claiming the name change was an attempt to win over customers and steal business.
“Oakland Metropolitan International Airport seeks to increase passengers and profits by rushing to illegally incorporate the trademarked name of San Francisco International Airport into its own name,” the lawsuit says.
Passengers could easily confuse the two destinations, the suit says, and end up stranded.
“The potential for confusion will be particularly serious for international travelers who may not speak or read English,” it says.
“Travelers will likely get confused and book tickets to the unintended airport, thinking ‘San Francisco Oakland Bay International Airport’ is SFO and arrive at the wrong place, a mistake that will lead to missed flights and connections, among other problems .”
Despite the lawsuit, Oakland officials voted unanimously to adopt the new name on Thursday, in a move that will not affect the “OAK” designation used on luggage tags.
The two airports are just 10 miles apart, on opposite sides of the San Francisco Bay.
Neither of them are actually in San Francisco – SFO is in San Mateo County, while OAK is in Oakland.
Both airports are a 20-40 minute taxi ride from downtown San Francisco.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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