Just because Ivanka Trump is the daughter of President Donald Trump, it does not mean she cannot be sued for an alleged trademark breach. While the Manhattan federal court allowed Aquazzura Italia SRL to file a lawsuit in 2016 against the Trump shoe brand, the judge accommodated the busy schedule of the President's daughter.
Judge Katherine Forrest limited on Friday the testimony of Ivanka to two hours. She specified that Trump's testimony "must occur in Washington D.C. if that is more convenient for Ms.Trump," and that it must be arranged on a mutually acceptable schedule.
No involvement in the design process?
Ivanka's lawyer did not want the first daughter to testify on the claim she is not involved in the design process. The lawsuit was filed by Aquazzura which charged Trump’s shoe company of copying the design of its Wild Thing sandal, priced at $785, sold as Hettie sandal by the former’s store.
Ivanka Trump ordered to testify in lawsuit claiming she plagiarised best-selling shoes Yes or No pic.twitter.com/BVNKhEGppA
— Brandi Saari (@brandilmelb) June 26, 2017
Forrest rejected the lawyer’s argument and claimed: "Ms. Trump's public statements regarding active and comprehensive brand management lead to a reasonable inference that the show at issue would not have been released without her approval,” The New York Daily News reported.
Even if she no longer has a direct role at the company after she stepped down before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the lawyer's argument held that Ivanka was still a company executive.
The lawyer claimed Ivanka's deposition is necessary as she was a company executive when the shoe was made. Furthermore, it is not just the Hettie shoe design that Aquazzura sued Ivanka’s company for, but also Trump’s 'Teagin Pointy Toe Pump with Tassel' that looks like the 'Forever Marilyn' shoe design of the Italian brand, together with the 'Necila', which is very similar to Aquazzura’s 'Belgravia'.
Trouble in China too
Ivanka’s headaches do not stop in Washington. The Guardian reported the production schedule of a shoe company that makes Ivanka Trump-branded shoes in China, of which is responsible the company's licensee, Marc Fisher. The shoe production was scheduled for two months after the brand claimed it had stopped making the footwear.
The factory claimed it had been months since the shoe was not made after the activists who were probing the labor abuses at the factory were arrested.
The plant claimed that Ivanka-branded shoes have not been produced since March, but, according to the April 14 production table in Ganzhou, almost 1,000 shoes were scheduled to be made between May 23 and 25, with a May 30 delivery date.
