Completely confident
There are, however, still many issues to be resolved before the move can be ruled a success. In an exclusive interview with HEXUS, Grose gives answers to many of our questions on TFC and we start with the biggest.
AMD manufactures x86 compatible CPUs (which are ubiquitous in PCs) under patent cross-license agreement with Intel, which owns the patent on the x86 instruction set architecture. The legalese is all here for anyone who has a spare few days to read it, but it's generally understood that the fab manufacturing x86 compatible CPUs must be owned by AMD in order for the license to be valid.
Clearly it would be disastrous for AMD if it was found to have breached its agreement with Intel and had the licence withdrawn. Intel has been muttering under its breath about the move ever since it was announced, even issuing the following statement: "Intel has serious questions about this transaction as it relates to the license and will vigorously protect Intel's intellectual property rights."
So we start by asking Grose (pictured right) what advice AMD's legal counsel provided in respect of whether AMD is or is not in breach of its agreement with Intel and whether AMD believes it's operating within the letter or even within the spirit of its cross-licence agreement with Intel.
"We are completely confident the structure of this transaction takes into account our cross-license agreements," says Grose. "Rest assured, we plan to continue respecting Intel's intellectual property rights, just as we expect them to respect ours."
Nice little dig at the end there, but Grose doesn't exactly guarantee there are no issues with the Intel cross-license. "Takes into account" and "plan to continue" are hardly definitive statements, but maybe that's too much to hope for when dealing with legal matters.
Having said that, the probability of Intel taking such legal action against AMD as to jeopardise its existence is very small as that would leave it with a monopoly of the CPU market, something anti-trust authorities are highly likely to act on.
