diff --git a/notebook/services/contents/filemanager.py b/notebook/services/contents/filemanager.py
index d82bba403..34a342462 100644
--- a/notebook/services/contents/filemanager.py
+++ b/notebook/services/contents/filemanager.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from . import tz
 from notebook.utils import (
     is_hidden,
     to_api_path,
+    same_file,
 )
 
 _script_exporter = None
@@ -460,7 +461,7 @@ class FileContentsManager(FileManagerMixin, ContentsManager):
         old_os_path = self._get_os_path(old_path)
 
         # Should we proceed with the move?
-        if os.path.exists(new_os_path):
+        if os.path.exists(new_os_path) and not same_file(old_os_path, new_os_path):
             raise web.HTTPError(409, u'File already exists: %s' % new_path)
 
         # Move the file
diff --git a/notebook/utils.py b/notebook/utils.py
index 92a2410cc..fa083b029 100644
--- a/notebook/utils.py
+++ b/notebook/utils.py
@@ -141,6 +141,26 @@ def is_hidden(abs_path, abs_root=''):
 
     return False
 
+def same_file(path, other_path):
+    """
+    Check if path and other_path are hard links to the same file. This is a
+    utility implementation of Python's os.path.samefile which is not available
+    with Python 2.x and Windows.
+
+    Parameters
+    -----------
+    path:       String representing a path to a file
+    other_path: String representing a path to another file
+
+    Returns
+    -----------
+    same:   Boolean that is True if both path and other path are the same
+    """
+    path_stat = os.stat(path)
+    other_path_stat = os.stat(other_path)
+    return (path_stat.st_ino == other_path_stat.st_ino and 
+            path_stat.st_dev == other_path_stat.st_dev)
+
 def to_os_path(path, root=''):
     """Convert an API path to a filesystem path