Orlando Melbourne International Airport name here to stay

MELBOURNE — Officials at Orlando Melbourne International Airport have no plans to back off the name of the airport after using it for close to a decade despite recent protests by Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

And a South Florida trademark/copyright lawyer brought in by Melbourne officials said Monday, he doesn't think Orlando's  argument has merit. The issue, said Ury Fischer, a partner with the Coral Gables-based Lott & Fischer law firm, is whether the Melbourne airport's name has caused any confusion among travelers, or is likely to in the future.

"Our conclusion at this point is, No. 1, there is no actual confusion, which is probably the most important thing," Fischer said at a special meeting Monday of the Melbourne Airport Authority.

"The airport has been using the word 'Orlando' for over eight years and you would expect if there was actual confusion there would  be mass confusion," he said. The Melbourne airport has been calling itself Orlando Melbourne International Airport in marketing efforts for at least eight years. But in later 2015, officials made a more formal branding effort using the Orlando Melbourne name.

Complaints of Melbourne using the word "Orlando' in its marketing efforts, both print and digitally, arose last month when GOAA Executive Director, Phillip Brown penned a letter to Greg Donovan, executive director of the Melbourne Airport Authority, calling the airport's moniker "misleading and confusing to the public."

GOAA's board members in December, also voted to hire a law firm to study any trademark violations and to look for legal remedies to the dispute.

On Monday, the Melbourne Airport Authority directed its staff to work with GOAA in resolving the dispute over the name though it's unclear what direction that might take. Donovan and members of Melbourne Airport Authority didn't appear willing to change its name over GOAA's concerns and local officials wondered why the question is just now becoming an issue as the "Orlando Melbourne International Airport" has bee used used in numerous digital and print national and regional marketing efforts since at least 2008.

"This is a very important issue," said William Potter, a Melbourne Airport Authority member. "This is the basis of our marketing and I urge us to be very firm in asserting what I think are our clear legal rights."

A GOAA representative was not immediately available for comment late Monday morning.

Both Donovan and Fischer said smaller airports using the name of a dominate area in a facility title is common. One example used was Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, which serves the same market as Logan International Airport in East Boston.

Carolyn Fennell, a spokeswoman for Orlando International Airport, said she hopes the two airports can meet in the near future and find a way to resolve the name dispute in way that's beneficial to Central Florida.

"Our concern continues to be," Fennell said, "in the confusion and location misrepresentation that occurs with our passengers."

Contact Price at 3210242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.