US court dismisses internet company’s attempt to ‘harass’ Donald Trump
A court has rejected a marketing company’s attempt to make presidential-hopeful and entrepreneur Donald Trump personally testify in a trademark dispute, describing the request as a form of “harassment”.
US-based Trump Your Competition (TYC) had filed a motion at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York asking the court to order the Republican candidate to file a deposition at a proceeding currently taking place at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
But Judge Alvin Hellerstein said that he saw “no point in the deposition other than to harass him during a presidential campaign”.
The dispute concerns Trump’s opposition to TYC’s trademark application to protect the name of its company.
During the dispute, Alan Garten, executive vice president and general counsel of the Trump Organization, testified. But TYC also called on Trump to file his own deposition.
In response, the Trump Organization offered Eric Trump, son of Donald and executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, instead.
But last month, TYC called on the district court to intervene and to order Trump to file a deposition because the opposition was filed by Trump in an individual capacity.
Lawyers representing Trump described the filing as a “ fishing expedition” and a “calculated attempt to harass” the presidential candidate.
