Judge Blocks Oakland From Using ‘San Francisco Bay’ in Airport Name

Updated 5:35 p.m. Tuesday

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that blocks Oakland’s use of the name “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.”

San Francisco filed a trademark infringement suit against the Port of Oakland after the port adopted the new name earlier this year. In September, San Francisco sought an order to halt further use of the name.

In a 34-page ruling, Hixson agreed with San Francisco’s argument that the city would suffer irreparable harm if the Port of Oakland was allowed to continue to use the new name.

He wrote that while there’s little evidence travelers have confused the two airports since the renaming, Oakland officials had appropriated San Francisco’s trademark in a way that would falsely imply their relatively lightly-used airport is somehow affiliated with the much busier one just across the bay.

“The port has taken San Francisco’s valuable mark and applied it to a smaller, less successful, and lower-rated airport,” Hixson wrote. “San Francisco’s mark is now literally in the name of the Oakland airport. This damages the goodwill and value of San Francisco’s Mark and deprives San Francisco of control over its mark.”

In a Zoom media briefing, San Francisco City Attorney called Hixson’s ruling “an important win for tourists and consumers and visitors and those who use our airport system.” He said the city has spent “hundreds of millions of dollars” building the “San Francisco International Airport” brand, which was first used in 1954.

“We’re happy that the court agreed that our brand should be legally protected from trademark infringement,” Chiu said.

Port of Oakland spokesman Robert Bernardo said in an emailed statement that the agency is reviewing the ruling “and considering all available options.”

The court order issued Tuesday does not end the legal dispute over “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” The preliminary injunction does block Oakland’s use of the new airport name and reflects the court’s judgment that San Francisco is likely to prevail in a full trial on its trademark infringement claims.