Steve Jobs ordered by a court to answer questions of class-action lawyers

US Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd, based in San Jose, California, ruled on Monday that Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs, though being on medical leave, will have to answer questions from lawyers for a group of consumers accusing the company of creating a music-download monopoly. The ruling says that the plaintiffs’ lawyers can question Jobs for a total of two hours.

A group of consumers complained in the class-action suit that Apple created a music-downloading monopoly with its iPod player and iTunes store. The complains argues that an application called Fairplay allowed only music bought on iTunes to be played on the iPod.

Back in 2044 Apple’s rival RealNetworks Inc launched a technology to allow customers to play music downloaded from its site on their iPods. But Apple immediately introduced an iTunes update that once more blocked music from RealNetworks, the complaint charges.

Consumers stated in a last year filing that Apple failed to provide specific examples of how a deposition of Jobs would constitute "undue hardship."

In his ruling, Lloyd wrote that Jobs has "unique, non-repetitive, first hand knowledge about Apple's software updates in October 2004 that rendered the RealNetworks's digital music files once again inoperable with iPods."

Apple could appeal the ruling to a district judge, but it would likely have to make a case that the magistrate "made a big mistake," said Professor David Levine at University of California Hastings College of the Law.