Ex-Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Travis Kalanick's deposition, released earlier this month in the legal dispute over driverless car technology with Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Waymo, makes it clear that being a leader in the autonomous vehicle space is considered critical to Uber's future.

And so it's no surprise that the ride-hailing company was eager to bring on self-driving car engineer Anthony Levandowski and others formerly from Google “while staying within certain legal constructs,” as Kalanick put it in his July 27 deposition, despite recognizing the possibility that there might be an “emotional response” from Google.

But did the company's determination result in an unusual deal? Certain aspects of the agreement with Otto may raise eyebrows, such as a clause indemnifying Uber against some pre-signing bad acts, but it really depends on which part of the deal is being considered, according to attorneys who are not involved with this lawsuit.