Ivanka Trump to give deposition in lawsuit by Aquazurra

Ivanka Trump will be speaking in front of a judge in October this year as she has been forced to give a deposition in a lawsuit by the Italian shoemaker, which claims the U.S. President’s daughter’s namesake label copied its designs.

Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that Ivanka Trump will be giving a deposition in relation to the suit Aquazurra filed against her and her company in June 2016, when the Italian label said Trump's "Hettie" shoe design “is too close to that design to be a coincidence.”

Back in the day, Trump’s lawyers have claimed in court documents that Aquazurra designs are not distinctive enough to prove that their client copied the Italian shoe company's style. Furthermore, they assured this lawsuit is nothing but a ‘publicity stunt’ and arguing that the Aquazurra design lacks the "distinctiveness" it would need to be protected by intellectual property laws.

The lawyers also said that Trump should be exempt because of her "special circumstances." Forcing Ivanka Trump to be deposed "would be an unnecessary distraction and would interfere with her ability to perform her duties at the White House." It’s worth recalling that Ivanka Trump stepped down from her role at her namesake company shortly before her father was inaugurated in January, serving ever since in an unpaid White House role as an adviser to President Trump.

However, the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest, denied that request in a ruling Friday. Forrest wrote that Ivanka Trump's deposition is necessary because she was a company executive during the time the shoes were made and had "high-level, authoritative, personal involvement" in the company.

According to CNNMoney, the judge also wrote that "Ms. Trump's public statements regarding active and comprehensive brand management lead to a reasonable inference that the shoe at issue would not have been released without her approval."

Forrest ruled that Trump's deposition must be kept to under two hours and done in Washington, D.C., where she currently resides. It must be completed by October, the judge said.