The cities of San Francisco and Oakland reached a tentative settlement of their trademark dispute over Oakland\u2019s renaming of its airport to \u201cSan Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parties reached an agreement after a Dec. 16 mediation session lasting more than 12 hours and are now waiting for final approval on the deal, according to a stipulation<\/a> filed Wednesday.<\/p>\n The cities were scheduled to attend a hearing Thursday over San Francisco\u2019s motion to add claims about the airport\u2019s second rebranding, which changed the name to \u201cOakland San Francisco Bay Airport.\u201d Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson of the US District Court for the Northern District of California postponed<\/a> that hearing in light of the tentative agreement.<\/p>\n Neither party immediately responded to a request for comment about the terms of the deal.<\/p>\n The fight started in 2024 when San Francisco sued Oakland<\/a> and its Board of Port Commissioners\u2014which runs the city\u2019s airport\u2014days after the board preliminarily approved the name change. <\/p>\n The complaint alleged the name infringes the \u201cSan Francisco International Airport\u201d trademark.<\/p>\n Hixson granted a preliminary injunction<\/a> in November 2024 prohibiting Oakland\u2019s use of the new airport name while the suit proceeded, ruling the new moniker would falsely imply affiliation with the San Francisco airport.<\/p>\n Oakland appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, arguing Hixson\u2019s analysis ignored that San Francisco presented no evidence of consumer confusion over who owns the Oakland airport. A Ninth Circuit panel appeared split<\/a> on whether to undo Hixson\u2019s injunction during oral argument in November.<\/p>\n Following the ban, Oakland in July introduced the \u201cOakland San Francisco Bay Airport\u201d name as a substitute. San Francisco in November moved to amend its complaint to add the second name to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n Cooley LLP, Dergosits & Noah LLP, and the City Attorney\u2019s Office represent San Francisco. Fennemore Craig PC and in-house counsel represent the port.<\/p>\n