Apple CEO Tim Cook could be deposed in the government's lawsuit against the company over alleged price-setting in the e-book market.
In a one-page order, US district judge Denise Cote on Friday said she will hold a telephone conference on 13 March to consider the government's request for Cook's testimony.
Apple is the sole remaining defendant in the lawsuit brought against the iPhone maker and five other publishers last April for allegedly conspiring to raise prices of e-books to challenge the dominance of Amazon.com.
All of the accused publishers, including Pearson's Penguin Group, News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers and CBS-owned Simon & Schuster, have already settled with the Justice Department in the course of the last year.
The order follows a 6 March request by the government for Cook's testimony.
At the Apple trial, to be overseen by Cote in Manhattan, the Justice Department is not seeking monetary damages but a judicial decree that Apple violated anti-trust law, court papers show.
Among other things, government lawyers want the judge to issue an order enjoining Apple from engaging in any conduct similar to that alleged in the case.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
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