Fog-geddaboutit!
San Francisco has been accused of “bullying” after slapping nearby Oakland with a trademark lawsuit — sharply warning the crossbay rival to “stay away” from its brand.
The brouhaha by the Bay began after the burg Gertrude Stein once described as having “no there there” rebranded its airport (OAK) — formerly known as “Metropolitan Oakland International” — to the broader “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.”
The move was designed to better inform travelers as to the airport’s location, Port of Oakland officials stated.
“The convenience and ease of traveling through OAK won’t change with our name,” the port’s Interim Director of Aviation Craig Simon assured reporters earlier this year.
“OAK is the closest major airport to 58 percent of the Bay Area population. The combined population of the counties closest to OAK is 4.1 million compared with 1.5 million in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. This designation will let the world know who we serve,” Simon explained.
But critics — starting with the neighbors over the bridge — were less than impressed.
Now, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu is calling for a ground stop against the Port, accusing them of “intentionally and knowingly capitalizing off of confusion,” CNN Travel reported.
“We are already seeing traveler confusion around the use of Oakland’s new name. This was entirely predictable and preventable,” Chiu said in a statement released to the media.
“San Francisco has invested millions in making San Francisco International Airport the world class airport it is today. We have built an incredible brand that we must protect. Oakland has a trademark for Oakland International Airport. It should use that and stay away from San Francisco’s brand,” the city’s legal honcho sniped.
Port reps were quick to pour water on the claims.
“The recent injunctive relief request by the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is a continuation of tactics rooted in publicity and anti-competitive bullying rather than on legal merits,” Port attorney Mary Richardson retorted in a statement of her own.
“The Port of Oakland, which owns and operates OAK, filed a counterclaim against SFO and has not yet received a response. In fact, at SFO’s request, OAK had agreed to extensions for SFO to respond to OAK’s claims.
“Unfortunately, it appears that SFO sought to manufacture confusion under the cloak of legal filings and try to erase OAK from the map,” Richardson claimed.
The municipal maneuvering comes as recently crime-plagued Oakland has been left reeling after losing three major-league sports franchises.
The Athletics played their last game at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday, ahead of a controversial move to Las Vegas.
The Raiders departed for Sin City in 2020. The Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco in 2019.
The A’s final game against the Texas Rangers featured “chants of ‘Sell the Team!’ toward owner John Fisher and fans throwing smoke bombs on the field,” The Post reported.
