GAP
While I have no doubt that INTC has an army of lawyers looking at its' contracts there seems to be a considerable gap between what the sales staff does and what INTC's legal community probably recommends.
First of all AMD would never be asserting all the INTC illegalities in the suit without some sort of documentation. So one can reasonably assume that either all the quotes/situations presented are fabrications by third parties or they're true. To me it seems highly unlikely that all the people/situations named by AMD in suit are fabrications. More than likely a very high percentage of the accusations are well documented and quite forthright.
Second, INTC's legal group would never condone the actions asserted in the suit. So, one has to infer that there has been some sort of disconnect between INTC's legal and sales departments with the legal group now being asked to defend the actions of the sales group.
Now it's highly doubtful that the sales group would have ever gotten into the situations described without the full knowledge and consent of upper management. Upper management probably picked and choose the situations that it wanted to go out on a limb for. Undoubtedly picking those situations where they perceived the least risk. Later in the game it appears that upper management, probably emboldened by AMD's lack of legal action, got more involved in the deal making. These deals probably never made it to the legal department. Anyway, I would be extremely surprised if INTC’s legal staff was ever apprised of the goings on.
Of course the mechanics of just how such large sums of money could be transferred will come out in the trial. My guess would be that there is some sort of slush fund maintained in the marketing budget for such actions. If AMD can subpoena INTC's documentation on the account it should make for some very interesting reading.
Also, it should be very interesting to see just how far B&O will go to deny wrong-doing when called to testify. I don't think either is stupid enough to perjure themselves, but who knows? Bernie may be having company Who knows, INTC may be getting that new management it so desperately needs sooner than later?
