Strike a pose: Hamilton real estate agent Rob Golfi sued over stretched-arm stance

The resemblance is uncanny. There is no denying it.

With their arms stretched out wide, with their palms open, Kris Lindahl and Rob Golfi look like they are doing their best impression of Julie Andrews from the Sound of Music.

Or Donald Trump. Or a Manchester United billboard. Or the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

Or maybe one of those wacky, wavy inflatable arm-flailing tube men found at used car lots.

As common a pose as it is, standing tall with one's arms stretched out is at the heart of an international legal battle between the two real-estate agents.

It involves accusations of copyright infringement, a fruit basket, an attempt to patent the pose, allegations of forged documents and a plagiarized commercial.

But to understand this arms race, it is necessary to go back to May 6, 2021, and an online real-estate seminar titled Kris Lindahl Blueprint Seminar." It was hosted by Lindahl, a realtor who in court fillings describes himself as one of Minnesota's most well-known real-estate professionals."

Meanwhile, Golfi, one of the most recognized real-estate faces in Hamilton and Niagara thanks to his ubiquitous arms stretched out Golfi Realty billboards, attended the seminar.

We never met face to face," he said. It was just an online seminar.

In court documents, Lindahl claims Golfi signed a waiver that promises he won't use Lindhal's proprietary concepts, materials, and intellectual property." The waiver also warns seminar attendees Lindahl will pursue legal action" if they do.

Golfi said he has no recollection of signing such a document.

When asked for a copy of the agreement, they shared a document with a handwritten signature looking nothing like mine. I asked them to provide proof of the email they received it from, and they would not provide it," he said. I am concerned this document was forged."

The Lindahl court documents say the waiver contains an IP address that corresponds to a physical address in Ontario, Canada."

As a result of taking part in the blueprint seminar, Mr. Golfi viewed and became aware of the arms outstretched pose."

Proposing to patent a pose

Lindahl doesn't just like the arms outstretched pose, which he has been using since at least July 2017 in ads.

He claims it's his property.

In June, Lindahl - who markets his company with billboards and ads with his arms splayed out and palms wide open - filed registration forms to trademark the pose, according to Minnesota court filings.

Lindhal Realty, LLC, owns all rights, title and interest in and to the arms outstretched marks," he claims.

Golfi, though, is not so sure.

First of all, it is going to take at least two years for that to even go through," he said of the trademark filings, adding he is not in breach of a trademark that doesn't yet exist. And can you actually patent a pose? It seems ridiculous. This is a PR stunt."

Golfi does admit, however, he did like the pose because it is different from the typical real estate photo.

I wanted something different. Every real-estate photo is the same," he said.

Sometime in the fall of 2021, Golfi, like Lindahl before him, began to use the pose in social media ads and on bus signs, billboards and just about anything else he could. Even his employees got in on the act, striking the pose for photos at house sales.

Its first usage appears to be in an Oct. 31, 2021, Facebook post where a drawing of Golfi - rendered as a vampire - wishes his followers a safe and happy Halloween.

Lindahl is not amused, saying in his court filings that Golfi's breach of the seminar wavier and use of the pose is causing irreparable and immeasurable harm ... with each passing day," and is asking the courts to order Golfi to stop and is requesting damages of an undetermined amount.

Lindahl's claims have not been proven in court.

It is unclear how Golfi's wingspan is causing harm to Lindhal's business. He does not sell homes in Ontario and Golfi does not work in Minnesota.

The war of the arms

Golfi said Lindahl was completely aware" he was using the pose in 2021.

In fact, the week before he turned on us, while fully aware of the use of this pose, we received a massive edible arrangement from Kris congratulating us on reaching over 1,000 transactions in 2021," said Golfi.

Things changed, according to Golfi, when Lindahl wanted to be his marketing agency.

It wasn't until we declined the services of his new marketing company that our relationship turned sour," Golfi said.

Lindahl did not respond to an interview request from The Spectator.

The court filings do not mention Golfi turning down Lindahl, but does claim that the American tried several times to get Golfi to stop using the big arms position in his advertising.

Things really heated up, however, during the last Canadian federal election.

Golfi appears in a video ad at a podium flanked by Canadian flags. A breaking news" ticker scrolls across the bottom of the screen, saying Rob Golfi can sell your home ... Guaranteed!" The ticker also identifies him as The Golfi team, party leader."

We need real estate of the people, by the people and for the people," Golfi says. Read my lips, Golfi gets it sold."

The trouble was, the entire commercial was lifted from one produced by Lindahl in 2019, down to the props, script and the fake news ticker. The only differences were the flags and a few words in the script.

We need real estate of the people, by the people and for the people," says Lindahl at a lectern in the original ad, identified as the Be generous party leader" on the ticker and is flanked by American flags. Read my lips, no open houses."

And of course, they both use the pose.

Golfi conceded in an interview that the commercial was plagiarized from Lindahl's ad, which is why he pulled it from YouTube shortly after it was posted.

It was the election, my marketing team thought it was a good idea," said Golfi. We actually took it down before Kris asked us too. No one can find that video anywhere now."

Golfi said the lawsuit is a waste of the court's time" and he will file a defence soon.

In the meantime, he says he is going to keep using the pose. At least one other Ontario real estate agent, Lino Arci of Toronto, is also using it in ads.

He cannot own a pose," Golfi said.

Grant LaFleche is an investigative reporter with The Spectator. Reach him via email: glafleche@torstar.ca