The Applicants sought to enforce Letters Rogatory from an Illinois court to compel ModiFace Inc., a Canadian non-party, to produce its un-obfuscated source code and provide deposition testimony in a class action against Amazon.
ModiFace resisted, arguing the request was too broad, unnecessary, and contrary to public policy due to the proprietary nature of its source code.
The court, applying Canadian principles of comity and public policy, denied the request for un-obfuscated source code, finding it not relevant, necessary, or otherwise obtainable under Ontario law, and that its production would be unduly burdensome and contrary to public policy.
The court ordered ModiFace to produce compiled and obfuscated code and submit to a deposition with specific procedural protections under Ontario rules.
