With a judgment against it by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission and a European Commission investigation underway, AMD thinks Intel is too canny to possess information that could be used against the company, and that an email trail showing its tactics in squeezing out AMD are most likely to be found at its customers.

AMD has already fired off letters to 32 PC makers, microprocessor distributors, and PC retailers, asking them to suspend their normal document-destruction policies. It described the recipients as large, well-heeled international corporations. These include PC makers Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lenovo, NEC, Sony, and Toshiba. AMD has also targeted retailers Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA in the US, Media Markt in Germany, and Dixons in the UK.

However, it has attracted a mixed response and said it will only serve subpoenas if negotiations with the companies break down. By the June 30 deadline it set, AMD said 14 companies had responded, nine of which said they would work to arrive at a mutually acceptable set of preservation rules. It said it is now in productive negotiations with Acer, Circuit City, Gateway, Lenovo, NEC, Rackable, Sony, Sun, and Tech Data.

CompUSA, Dell, and Hitachi simply acknowledged the letter, but in subsequent discussions, Dell and Hitachi promised to consider the request further. AMD said Toshiba acknowledged receipt of the letter but refused to negotiate at all. Eighteen companies have not responded to AMD’s letter and face the prospect of a subpoena.

In its court document, AMD said critical evidence can be lost through no fault of the party creating or maintaining it. Anxious about the ever-expanding volume of electronic materials created by their employees, companies deploy a variety of automated procedures to cull and purge their data.

Given that its complaint alleges that Intel engaged in intimidation to dissuade companies from dealing with AMD, the company said Intel does not put its threats in writing. As a result, it said that Intel’s footprints are likely to be found in the electronic files of its customers. It said that lower-level employees who negotiate terms with Intel can be expected to report their dealings up the corporate ladder, particularly those tactics they consider unfair and overbearing. Yet AMD said these types of informal, intra-corporate communications are most vulnerable to routine destruction.