Potential Criminal and Civil Liability.
and/or Disciplinary Action
4. Liability for Insider Trading. Any employee, officer or director who engages in a transaction in the Company's securities at a time when they have knowledge of Material Nonpublic Information may be subject to severe civil and criminal penalties and sanctions.
5. Liability for Tipping. Any employee, officer or director who tips ("tippers") a third party (commonly referred to as a "tippee") may also be liable for improper transactions by tippees to whom they have tipped Material Nonpublic Information regarding the Company or to whom they have made recommendations or expressed opinions on the basis of such information as to trading in the Company's securities. Tippers and tippees would be subject to the same penalties and sanctions as described above, and the SEC has imposed large penalties even when the tipper or tippee did not profit from the trading. The SEC, the stock exchanges and NASDAQ use sophisticated electronic surveillance techniques to uncover insider trading.
6. Control Persons. The Company and its supervisory personnel, if they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent illegal insider trading, may in certain circumstances, be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties.
7. Possible Company-Imposed Disciplinary Actions. Employees of the Company who violate this Policy shall also be subject to disciplinary action by the Company, which may include ineligibility for future participation in the Company's equity incentive plans or termination of employment.
Mandatory Guidelines
8. Trading Blackout Period. To ensure compliance with this Policy and applicable federal securities laws, and to avoid even the appearance of trading on the basis of inside information, the Company requires that executive officers, directors and all employees in the accounting and finance departments of the Company (collectively, "Designated Insiders") and Family Members of the foregoing, refrain from conducting transactions involving the purchase or sale of the Company's securities during the Blackout Periods established below. Each of the following periods will constitute a "Blackout Period":
The period commencing on the twentieth calendar day of the third fiscal month of each of the fiscal quarters (i.e. March 20, June 20, September 20 and December 20, as applicable) and, in each case, ending at the close of business on the second Trading Day following the date of public disclosure of the financial results for such fiscal quarter, or in the case of the fourth fiscal quarter, public disclosure of the financial results for the fiscal year. If such public disclosure occurs on a Trading Day before the markets close, then that day shall be considered the first Trading Day. If such public disclosure occurs after the markets close on a Trading Day, then the date of public disclosure shall not be considered the first Trading Day following the date of public disclosure.
In addition to the Blackout Periods described above, the Company may announce "special" Blackout Periods from time to time. Typically, this will occur when there are nonpublic developments that would be considered material for insider trading law purposes, such as, among other things, developments relating to regulatory proceedings or a major corporate transaction. Depending on the circumstances, a "special" Blackout Period may apply to all Designated Insiders or only a specific group of Designated Insiders. The Insider Trading Compliance Officer will provide written notice to Designated Insiders subject to a "special" Blackout Period. Any person made aware of the existence of a "special" Blackout Period should not disclose the existence of the Blackout Period to any other person. The failure of the Company to designate a person as being subject to a