(f) Amendment of Award. The Board may amend, modify or terminate any outstanding Award, including but not limited to, substituting therefor another Award of the same or a different type and changing the date of realization. The Participant’s consent to such action shall be required unless (i) the Board determines that the action, taking into account any related action, does not materially and adversely affect the Participant’s rights under the Plan or (ii) the change is permitted under Section 6.
(g) Conditions on Delivery of Stock. The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Plan or to remove restrictions from shares previously delivered under the Plan until (i) all conditions of the Award have been met or removed to the satisfaction of the Company, (ii) in the opinion of the Company’s counsel, all other legal matters in connection with the issuance and delivery of such shares have been satisfied, including any applicable securities laws and any applicable stock exchange or stock market rules and regulations, and (iii) the Participant has executed and delivered to the Company such representations or agreements as the Company may consider appropriate to satisfy the requirements of any applicable laws, rules or regulations.
(h) Acceleration. The Board may, at any time, provide that any Award shall become immediately free of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise realizable in whole or in part, as the case may be, solely (A) upon the death or disability of the Participant, (B) upon a merger, consolidation, sale, reorganization, recapitalization, or change in control of the Company or pursuant to Section 6, or (C) in any other circumstance with respect to Awards covering an aggregate of up to 5% of the maximum number of authorized shares set forth in Section 4(a). In addition, the Board may provide, at any time and for any reason, that any Award shall become immediately free from some or all of the restrictions and conditions applicable to such Award or otherwise realizable in whole or in part, as the case may be, solely to the extent required by an agreement, obligation or applicable law.
8. Miscellaneous.
(a) No Right To Employment or Other Status. No person shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award, and the grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to continued employment or any other relationship with the Company. The Company expressly reserves the right at any time to dismiss or otherwise terminate its relationship with a Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan, except as expressly provided in the applicable Award.
(b) No Rights As Stockholder. Subject to the provisions of the applicable Award agreement, no Participant or Designated Beneficiary shall have any rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares of Common Stock to be distributed with respect to an Award until becoming the record holder of such shares.
(c) Term of Plan. No Awards shall be granted under the Plan after the expiration of 10 years from the Effective Date, which is June 21, 2032, but Awards previously granted may extend beyond that date.
(d) Amendment of Plan. The Board may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided, however, that the Board may not amend the Plan in any way that would require the approval of the Company’s stockholders (whether pursuant to the Exchange Listing Standards or otherwise). Unless otherwise specified in the amendment, any amendment to the Plan adopted in accordance with this Section 8(d) shall apply to, and be binding on the holders of, all Awards outstanding under the Plan at the time the amendment is adopted, provided the Board determines that such amendment, taking into account any related action, does not materially and adversely affect the rights of Participants under the Plan.
5