INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT

A judge awarded $106,348 to a Miami locksmith company that claiming a competitor was impersonating it online.

The owner of AAA Miami Locksmith Inc. alleged Paulo Bacigalupo changed the phone number for AAA Miami Locksmith's Google business listing to the phone number for his own business, Bacigalupo Locksmith, used black-hat search engine optimization techniques to increase his website's ranking on Google at the expense of AAA Miami Locksmith and left fake negative reviews of AAA Miami Locksmith on Yelp and similar websites.

Bacigalupo claimed he didn't know enough about online marketing to commit such acts and maintained AAA Miami Locksmith was attempting to sabotage its own business.

Case: AAA Miami Locksmith v. Bacigalupo

Case No.: 2017-010878-CA-01

Plaintiffs attorney: Samuel Gittle and Oscar A. Gomez, EPGD Attorneys at Law, Miami

Defense attorney: Fernando Franco, Franco Law Firm, Miami