SFO–Oakland airport legal battle settled

San Francisco and the Port of Oakland settled their two-year fight over Oakland’s airport name on April 28, and Oakland keeps “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.” (sf.gov) (portofoakland.com) The settlement ends San Francisco’s trademark lawsuit, Oakland’s counterclaim, and Oakland’s appeal of a federal preliminary injunction entered in November 2024. (sf.gov) (apnews.com) Oakland can keep using “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport,” but it cannot use “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport,” “Oakland San Francisco International Bay Airport,” or “Oakland San Francisco Bay International Airport.” (ktvu.com) (sf.gov) The agreement also says Oakland cannot emphasize “San Francisco” or “San Francisco Bay” with larger type, different colors, highlighting, italics, boldface, or underlining. (apnews.com) (sfcityattorney.org) Online marketing was part of the deal too. The Port of Oakland may not buy, and must expressly exclude, keywords including “San Francisco Airport,” “SF Airport,” and “San Francisco International Airport.” (ktvu.com) (sfcityattorney.org) The dispute began in April 2024, when Oakland’s board approved the name “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” to tie the airport more closely to the region for travelers abroad. (kqed.org) (apnews.com) San Francisco sued days later, arguing the name was too close to San Francisco International Airport’s brand and could confuse passengers, especially people booking Bay Area trips from outside the region. (reuters.com) (kqed.org) A federal judge agreed in part in November 2024 and blocked Oakland from using the first renamed version while the case proceeded. Oakland later shifted to the current name instead. (sf.gov) (nbcbayarea.com) San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said the settlement protects SFO’s brand while avoiding more litigation. Port attorney Yibin Shen said Oakland fought to keep a name that links the airport to San Francisco Bay. (sf.gov) (ktvu.com) The case closes with both airports still operating under their existing three-letter codes, SFO and OAK, and with the naming fight moved from court papers to signage rules. (ktvu.com) (portofoakland.com)