HEURISTIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC.
1996 STOCK OPTION PLAN
1. Purpose.
The purpose of this plan (the "Plan") is to secure for Heuristic
Development Group, Inc. (the "Company") and its shareholders the benefits
arising from capital stock ownership by employees, officers and directors of,
and consultants or advisors to, the Company who are expected to contribute to
the Company's future growth and success. Except where the context otherwise
requires, the term "Company" shall include all present and future subsidiaries
of the Company as defined in Sections 424(e) and 424(f) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended or replaced from time to time (the "Code"). Those
provisions of the Plan which make express reference to Section 422 shall apply
only to Incentive Stock Options (as that term is defined in the Plan).
2. Type of Options and Administration.
(a) Types of Options. Options granted pursuant to the Plan shall be
authorized by action of the Board of Directors of the Company (or a Committee
designated by the Board of Directors) and may be either incentive stock options
("Incentive Stock Options") meeting the requirements of Section 422 of the Code
or non-statutory options which are not intended to meet the requirements of
Section 422 of the Code.
(b) Administration. The Plan will be administered by a committee (the
"Committee") appointed by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose
construction and interpretation of the terms and provisions of the Plan shall be
final and conclusive. The delegation of powers to the Committee shall be
consistent with applicable laws or regulations (including, without limitation,
applicable state law and Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), or any successor rule ("Rule 16b-3")). The
Committee may in its sole discretion grant options to purchase shares of the
Company's Common Stock, $.01 par value per share ("Common Stock"), and issue
shares upon exercise of such options as provided in the Plan. The Committee
shall have authority, subject to the express provisions of the Plan, to construe
the respective option agreements and the Plan, to prescribe, amend and rescind
rules and regulations relating to the Plan, to determine the terms and
provisions of the respective option agreements, which need not be identical, and
to make all other determinations in the judgment of the Committee necessary or
desirable for the administration of the Plan. The Committee may correct any
defect or supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or in
any option agreement in the manner and to the extent it shall deem expedient to
carry the Plan into effect and it shall be the sole and final judge of such
expediency. No director or person acting pursuant to authority delegated by the
Board of Directors shall be liable for any action or determination under the
Plan made in good faith. Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 15 below,
the aggregate number of shares of
Common Stock that may be subject to Options or granted to any person in a
calendar year shall not exceed 100,000 shares.
(c) Applicability of Rule 16b-3. Those provisions of the Plan which make
express reference to Rule 16b-3 shall apply to the Company only at such time as
the Company's Common Stock is registered under the Exchange Act, subject to the
last sentence of Section 3(b), and then only to such persons as are required to
file reports under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (a "Reporting Person").
3. Eligibility.
(a) General. Options or Restricted Stock Awards may be granted to persons
who are, at the time of grant, employees, officers or directors of, or
consultants or advisors to, the Company or any subsidiaries of the Company as
defined in Sections 424(e) and 424(f) of the Code ("Participants") provided,
that Incentive Stock Options may only be granted to individuals who are
employees of the Company (within the meaning of Section 3401(c) of the Code). A
person who has been granted an option may, if he or she is otherwise eligible,
be granted additional options if the Committee shall so determine.
(b) Grant of Options to Reporting Persons. The selection of a director or
an officer who is a Reporting Person (as the terms "director" and "officer" are
defined for purposes of Rule 16b-3) as a recipient of an option, the timing of
the option grant, the exercise price of the option and the number of shares
subject to the option shall be determined either (i) by the Board of Directors,
or (ii) by a committee consisting solely of two or more directors having full
authority to act in the matter, each of whom shall be a "Non-Employee Director".
For the purposes of the Plan, a director shall be deemed to be a "Non-Employee
Director" only if such person qualifies as a "Non-Employee Director" within the
meaning of Rule 16b-3, as such term is interpreted from time to time. If at
least two of the members of the Board of Directors do not qualify as a
"Non-Employee Director" within the meaning of Rule 16b-3, as such term is
interpreted from time to time, then the granting of options to officers and
directors who are Reporting Persons under the Plan shall not be determined in
accordance with this Section 3(b) but shall be determined in accordance with the
other provisions of the Plan.
4. Stock Subject to Plan.
The stock subject to options granted under the Plan shall be shares of
authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock. Subject to adjustment as
provided in Section 15 below, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock of
the Company which may be issued and sold under the Plan is 250,000 shares. If an
option granted under the Plan shall expire, terminate or is cancelled for any
reason without having been exercised in full, the unpurchased shares subject to
such option shall again be available for subsequent option grants under the
Plan.
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5. Forms of Option Agreements.
As a condition to the grant of an option under the Plan, each recipient of
an option shall execute an option agreement in such form not inconsistent with
the Plan as may be approved by the Board of Directors. Such option agreements
may differ among recipients.
6. Purchase Price.
(a) General. The purchase price per share of stock deliverable upon the
exercise of an option shall be determined by the Board of Directors at the time
of grant of such option; provided, however, that in the case of an Incentive
Stock Option, the exercise price shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market
Value (as hereinafter defined) of such stock, at the time of grant of such
option, or less than 110% of such Fair Market Value in the case of options
described in Section 11(b). "Fair Market Value" of a share of Common Stock of
the Company as of a specified date for the purposes of the Plan shall mean the
closing price of a share of the Common Stock on the principal securities
exchange (including the Nasdaq National Market) on which such shares are traded
on the day immediately preceding the date as of which Fair Market Value is being
determined, or on the next preceding date on which such shares are traded if no
shares were traded on such immediately preceding day, or if the shares are not
traded on a securities exchange, Fair Market Value shall be deemed to be the
average of the high bid and low asked prices of the shares in the
over-the-counter market on the day immediately preceding the date as of which
Fair Market Value is being determined or on the next preceding date on which
such high bid and low asked prices were recorded. If the shares are not publicly
traded, Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock (including, in the case of
any repurchase of shares, any distributions with respect thereto which would be
repurchased with the shares) shall be determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors. In no case shall Fair Market Value be determined with regard to
restrictions other than restrictions which, by their terms, will never lapse.
(b) Payment of Purchase Price. Options granted under the Plan may provide
for the payment of the exercise price by delivery of cash or a check to the
order of the Company in an amount equal to the exercise price of such options,
or by any other means which the Board of Directors determines are consistent
with the purpose of the Plan and with applicable laws and regulations
(including, without limitation, the provisions of Rule 16b-3 and Regulation T
promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board).
7. Option Period.
Subject to earlier termination as provided in the Plan, each option and all
rights thereunder shall expire on such date as determined by the Board of
Directors and set forth in the applicable option agreement, provided, that such
date shall not be later than (10) ten years after the date on which the option
is granted.
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8. Exercise of Options.
Each option granted under the Plan shall be exercisable either in full or
in installments at such time or times and during such period as shall be set
forth in the option agreement evidencing such option, subject to the provisions
of the Plan. No option granted to a Reporting Person for purposes of the
Exchange Act, however, shall be exercisable during the first six months after
the date of grant. Subject to the requirements in the immediately preceding
sentence, if an option is not at the time of grant immediately exercisable, the
Board of Directors may (i) in the agreement evidencing such option, provide for
the acceleration of the exercise date or dates of the subject option upon the
occurrence of specified events, and/or (ii) at any time prior to the complete
termination of an option, accelerate the exercise date or dates of such option.
9. Nontransferability of Options.
No option granted under this Plan shall be assignable or otherwise
transferable by the optionee except by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution or pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order as defined in
the Code or Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or the rules
thereunder. An option may be exercised during the lifetime of the optionee only
by the optionee. In the event an optionee dies during his employment by the
Company or any of its subsidiaries, or during the three-month period following
the date of termination of such employment, his option shall thereafter be
exercisable, during the period specified in the option agreement, by his
executors or administrators to the full extent to which such option was
exercisable by the optionee at the time of his death during the periods set
forth in Section 10 or 11(d).
10. Effect of Termination of Employment or Other Relationship.
Except as provided in Section 11(d) with respect to Incentive Stock Options
and except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the date of grant of an
Option, and subject to the provisions of the Plan, an optionee may exercise an
option at any time within three months following the termination of the
optionee's employment or other relationship with the Company or within one (1)
year if such termination was due to the death or disability of the optionee but,
except in the case of the optionee's death, in no event later than the
expiration date of the Option. If the termination of the optionee's employment
is for cause or is otherwise attributable to a breach by the optionee of an
employment or confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, the option shall
expire immediately upon such termination. The Board of Directors shall have the
power to determine what constitutes a termination for cause or a breach of an
employment or confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, whether an optionee
has been terminated for cause or has breached such an agreement, and the date
upon which such termination for cause or breach occurs. Any such determinations
shall be final and conclusive and binding upon the optionee.
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11. Incentive Stock Options.
Options granted under the Plan which are intended to be Incentive Stock
Options shall be subject to the following additional terms and conditions:
(a) Express Designation. All Incentive Stock Options granted under the
Plan shall, at the time of grant, be specifically designated as such in the
option agreement covering such Incentive Stock Options.
(b) 10% Shareholder. If any employee to whom an Incentive Stock Option
is to be granted under the Plan is, at the time of the grant of such
option, the owner of stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined
voting power of all classes of stock of the Company (after taking into
account the attribution of stock ownership rules of Section 424(d) of the
Code), then the following special provisions shall be applicable to the
Incentive Stock Option granted to such individual:
(i) The purchase price per share of the Common Stock subject to
such Incentive Stock Option shall not be less than 110% of the Fair
Market Value of one share of Common Stock at the time of grant; and
(ii) The option exercise period shall not exceed five years from
the date of grant.
(c) Dollar Limitation. For so long as the Code shall so provide,
options granted to any employee under the Plan (and any other incentive
stock option plans of the Company) which are intended to constitute
Incentive Stock Options shall not constitute Incentive Stock Options to the
extent that such options, in the aggregate, become exercisable for the
first time in any one calendar year for shares of Common Stock with an
aggregate Fair Market Value, as of the respective date or dates of grant,
of more than $100,000.
(d) Termination of Employment, Death or Disability. No Incentive Stock
Option may be exercised unless, at the time of such exercise, the optionee
is, and has been continuously since the date of grant of his or her option,
employed by the Company, except that:
(i) an Incentive Stock Option may be exercised within the period
of three months after the date the optionee ceases to be an employee
of the Company (or within such lesser period as may be specified in
the applicable option agreement), provided, that the agreement with
respect to such option may designate a longer exercise period and that
the exercise after such three-month period shall be treated as the
exercise of a non-statutory option under the Plan;
(ii) if the optionee dies while in the employ of the Company, or
within three months after the optionee ceases to be such an employee,
the Incentive Stock Option may be exercised by the person to whom it
is transferred by will or
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the laws of descent and distribution within the period of one year
after the date of death (or within such lesser period as may be
specified in the applicable option agreement); and
(iii) if the optionee becomes disabled (within the meaning of
Section 22(e)(3) of the Code or any successor provisions thereto)
while in the employ of the Company, the Incentive Stock Option may be
exercised within the period of one year after the date the optionee
ceases to be such an employee because of such disability (or within
such lesser period as may be specified in the applicable option
agreement).
For all purposes of the Plan and any option granted hereunder, "employment"
shall be defined in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.421-7(h) of the
Income Tax Regulations (or any successor regulations). Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions, no Incentive Stock Option may be exercised after its
expiration date.
12. Additional Provisions.
(a) Additional Option Provisions. The Board of Directors may, in its sole
discretion, include additional provisions in option agreements covering options
granted under the Plan, including without limitation restrictions on transfer,
repurchase rights, rights of first refusal, commitments to pay cash bonuses, to
make, arrange for or guaranty loans or to transfer other property to optionees
upon exercise of options, or such other provisions as shall be determined by the
Board of Directors; provided, that such additional provisions shall not be
inconsistent with any other term or condition of the Plan and such additional
provisions shall not cause any Incentive Stock Option granted under the Plan to
fail to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option within the meaning of Section 422
of the Code.
(b) Acceleration, Extension, Etc. The Board of Directors may, in its sole
discretion, (i) accelerate the date or dates on which all or any particular
option or options granted under the Plan may be exercised or (ii) extend the
dates during which all, or any particular, option or options granted under the
Plan may be exercised; provided, however, that no such extension shall be
permitted if it would cause the Plan to fail to comply with Section 422 of the
Code or with Rule 16b-3 (if applicable).
13. General Restrictions.
(a) Investment Representations. The Company may require any person to whom
an Option is granted, as a condition of exercising such option, to give written
assurances in substance and form satisfactory to the Company to the effect that
such person is acquiring the Common Stock subject to the option or award, for
his or her own account for investment and not with any present intention of
selling or otherwise distributing the same, and to such other effects as the
Company deems necessary or appropriate in order to comply with federal and
applicable state securities laws, or with covenants or representations made by
the Company in connection
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with any public offering of its Common Stock, including any "lock-up" or other
restriction on transferability.
(b) Compliance With Securities Law. Each Option shall be subject to the
requirement that if, at any time, counsel to the Company shall determine that
the listing, registration or qualification of the shares subject to such option
upon any securities exchange or automated quotation system or under any state or
federal law, or the consent or approval of any governmental or regulatory body,
or that the disclosure of non-public information or the satisfaction of any
other condition is necessary as a condition of, or in connection with the
issuance or purchase of shares thereunder, such option may not be exercised, in
whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or
approval, or satisfaction of such condition shall have been effected or obtained
on conditions acceptable to the Board of Directors. Nothing herein shall be
deemed to require the Company to apply for or to obtain such listing,
registration or qualification, or to satisfy such condition.
14. Rights as a Stockholder.
The holder of an option shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect
to any shares covered by the option (including, without limitation, any rights
to receive dividends or non-cash distributions with respect to such shares)
until the date of issue of a stock certificate to him or her for such shares. No
adjustment shall be made for dividends or other rights for which the record date
is prior to the date such stock certificate is issued.
15. Adjustment Provisions for Recapitalizations, Reorganizations and Related
Transactions.
(a) Recapitalizations and Related Transactions. If, through or as a result
of any recapitalization, reclassification, stock dividend, stock split, reverse
stock split or other similar transaction, (i) the outstanding shares of Common
Stock are increased, decreased or exchanged for a different number or kind of
shares or other securities of the Company, or (ii) additional shares or new or
different shares or other non-cash assets are distributed with respect to such
shares of Common Stock or other securities, an appropriate and proportionate
adjustment shall be made in (x) the maximum number and kind of shares reserved
for issuance under or otherwise referred to in the Plan, (y) the number and kind
of shares or other securities subject to any then outstanding options under the
Plan, and (z) the price for each share subject to any then outstanding options
under the Plan, without changing the aggregate purchase price as to which such
options remain exercisable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no adjustment shall
be made pursuant to this Section 15 if such adjustment (i) would cause the Plan
to fail to comply with Section 422 of the Code or with Rule 16b-3 or (ii) would
be considered as the adoption of a new plan requiring stockholder approval.
(b) Reorganization, Merger and Related Transactions. All outstanding
Options under the Plan shall become fully exercisable for a period of sixty (60)
days following the occurrence of any Trigger Event, whether or not such Options
are then exercisable under the
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provisions of the applicable agreements relating thereto. For purposes of the
Plan, a "Trigger Event" is any one of the following events:
(i) the date on which shares of Common Stock are first purchased
pursuant to a tender offer or exchange offer (other than such an offer by
the Company, any Subsidiary, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of
any Subsidiary or any entity holding shares or other securities of the
Company for or pursuant to the terms of such plan), whether or not such
offer is approved or opposed by the Company and regardless of the number of
shares purchased pursuant to such offer;
(ii) the date the Company acquires knowledge that any person or group
deemed a person under Section 13(d)-3 of the Exchange Act (other than the
Company, any Subsidiary, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any
Subsidiary or any entity holding shares of Common Stock or other securities
of the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan or any
individual or entity or group or affiliate thereof which acquired its
beneficial ownership interest prior to the date the Plan was adopted by the
Board), in a transaction or series of transactions, has become the
beneficial owner, directly or indirectly (with beneficial ownership
determined as provided in Rule 13d-3, or any successor rule, under the
Exchange Act), of securities of the Company entitling the person or group
to 30% or more of all votes (without consideration of the rights of any
class or stock to elect directors by a separate class vote) to which all
shareholders of the Company would be entitled in the election of the Board
of Directors were an election held on such date;
(iii) the date, during any period of two consecutive years, when
individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board of
Directors of the Company cease for any reason to constitute at least a
majority thereof, unless the election, or the nomination for election by
the stockholders of the Company, of each new director was approved by a
vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who were
directors at the beginning of such period; and
(iv) the date of approval by the stockholders of the Company of an
agreement (a "reorganization agreement") providing for:
(A) The merger of consolidation of the Company with another
corporation where the stockholders of the Company, immediately prior
to the merger or consolidation, do not beneficially own, immediately
after the merger or consolidation, shares of the corporation issuing
cash or securities in the merger or consolidation entitling such
shareholders to 80% or more of all votes (without consideration of the
rights of any class of stock to elect directors by a separate class
vote) to which all stockholders of such corporation would be entitled
in the
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election of directors or where the members of the Board of Directors
of the Company, immediately prior to the merger or consolidation, do
not, immediately after the merger or consolidation, constitute a
majority of the Board of Directors of the corporation issuing cash or
securities in the merger or consolidation; or
(B) The sale or other disposition of all or substantially all the
assets of the Company.
(c) Board Authority to Make Adjustments. Any adjustments under this Section
15 will be made by the Board of Directors, whose determination as to what
adjustments, if any, will be made and the extent thereof will be final, binding
and conclusive. No fractional shares will be issued under the Plan on account of
any such adjustments.
16. Merger, Consolidation, Asset Sale, Liquidation, etc.
(a) General. In the event of any sale, merger, transfer or acquisition of
the Company or substantially all of the assets of the Company in which the
Company is not the surviving corporation, and provided that after the Company
shall have requested the acquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliate
thereof), that equivalent options shall be substituted and such successor
corporation shall have refused or failed to assume all options outstanding under
the Plan or issue substantially equivalent options, then any or all outstanding
options under the Plan shall accelerate and become exercisable in full
immediately prior to such event. The Committee will notify holders of options
under the Plan that any such options shall be fully exercisable for a period of
fifteen (15) days from the date of such notice, and the options will terminate
upon expiration of such notice.
(b) Substitute Options. The Company may grant options under the Plan in
substitution for options held by employees of another corporation who become
employees of the Company, or a subsidiary of the Company, as the result of a
merger or consolidation of the employing corporation with the Company or a
subsidiary of the Company, or as a result of the acquisition by the Company, or
one of its subsidiaries, of property or stock of the employing corporation. The
Company may direct that substitute options be granted on such terms and
conditions as the Board of Directors considers appropriate in the circumstances.
17. No Special Employment Rights.
Nothing contained in the Plan or in any option shall confer upon any
optionee any right with respect to the continuation of his or her employment by
the Company or interfere in any way with the right of the Company at any time to
terminate such employment or to increase or decrease the compensation of the
optionee.
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18. Other Employee Benefits.
Except as to plans which by their terms include such amounts as
compensation, the amount of any compensation deemed to be received by an
employee as a result of the exercise of an option or the sale of shares received
upon such exercise will not constitute compensation with respect to which any
other employee benefits of such employee are determined, including, without
limitation, benefits under any bonus, pension, profit-sharing, life insurance or
salary continuation plan, except as otherwise specifically determined by the
Board of Directors.
19. Amendment of the Plan.
(a) The Board of Directors may at any time, and from time to time, modify
or amend the Plan in any respect; provided, however, that if at any time the
approval of the stockholders of the Company is required under Section 422 of the
Code or any successor provision with respect to Incentive Stock Options, the
Board of Directors may not effect such modification or amendment without such
approval; and provided, further, that the provisions of Section 3(c) hereof
shall not be amended more than once every six months, other than to comport with
changes in the Code, the Employer Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended, or the rules thereunder.
(b) The modification or amendment of the Plan shall not, without the
consent of an optionee, affect his or her rights under an option previously
granted to him or her. With the consent of the optionee affected, the Board of
Directors may amend outstanding option agreements in a manner not inconsistent
with the Plan. The Board of Directors shall have the right to amend or modify
(i) the terms and provisions of the Plan and of any outstanding Incentive Stock
Options granted under the Plan to the extent necessary to qualify any or all
such options for such favorable federal income tax treatment (including deferral
of taxation upon exercise) as may be afforded incentive stock options under
Section 422 of the Code and (ii) the terms and provisions of the Plan and of any
outstanding option to the extent necessary to ensure the qualification of the
Plan under Rule 16b-3.
20. Withholding.
(a) The Company shall have the right to deduct from payments of any kind
otherwise due to the optionee any federal, state or local taxes of any kind
required by law to be withheld with respect to any shares issued upon exercise
of options under the Plan. Subject to the prior approval of the Company, which
may be withheld by the Company in its sole discretion, the optionee may elect to
satisfy such obligations, in whole or in part, (i) by causing the Company to
withhold shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable pursuant to the exercise of
an option or (ii) by delivering to the Company shares of Common Stock already
owned by the optionee. The shares so delivered or withheld shall have a Fair
Market Value equal to such withholding obligation as of the date that the amount
of tax to be withheld is to be determined. An optionee who has made an election
pursuant to this Section 20(a) may only satisfy his or her
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withholding obligation with shares of Common Stock which are not subject to any
repurchase, forfeiture, unfulfilled vesting or other similar requirements.
(b) The acceptance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of an Incentive
Stock Option shall constitute an agreement by the optionee (i) to notify the
Company if any or all of such shares are disposed of by the optionee within two
years from the date the option was granted or within one year from the date the
shares were issued to the optionee pursuant to the exercise of the option, and
(ii) if required by law, to remit to the Company, at the time of and in the case
of any such disposition, an amount sufficient to satisfy the Company's federal,
state and local withholding tax obligations with respect to such disposition,
whether or not, as to both (i) and (ii), the optionee is in the employ of the
Company at the time of such disposition.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Reporting Person whose
options have been granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(b)
herein, no election to use shares for the payment of withholding taxes shall be
effective unless made in compliance with any applicable requirements of Rule
16b-3.
21. Cancellation and New Grant of Options, Etc.
The Board of Directors shall have the authority to effect, at any time and
from time to time, with the consent of the affected optionees, (i) the
cancellation of any or all outstanding options under the Plan and the grant in
substitution therefor of new options under the Plan covering the same or
different numbers of shares of Common Stock and having an option exercise price
per share which may be lower or higher than the exercise price per share of the
cancelled options or (ii) the amendment of the terms of any and all outstanding
options under the Plan to provide an option exercise price per share which is
higher or lower than the then-current exercise price per share of such
outstanding options.
22. Effective Date and Duration of the Plan.
(a) Effective Date. The Plan shall become effective when adopted by the
Board of Directors, but no Incentive Stock Option granted under the Plan shall
become exercisable unless and until the Plan shall have been approved by the
Company's stockholders. If such stockholder approval is not obtained within
twelve months after the date of the Board's adoption of the Plan, no options
previously granted under the Plan shall be deemed to be Incentive Stock Options
and no Incentive Stock Options shall be granted thereafter. Amendments to the
Plan not requiring stockholder approval shall become effective when adopted by
the Board of Directors; amendments requiring shareholder approval (as provided
in Section 21) shall become effective when adopted by the Board of Directors,
but no Incentive Stock Option granted after the date of such amendment shall
become exercisable (to the extent that such amendment to the Plan was required
to enable the Company to grant such Incentive Stock Option to a particular
optionee) unless and until such amendment shall have been approved by the
Company's stockholders. If such stockholder approval is not obtained within
twelve months of the Board's adoption of such amendment, any Incentive Stock
Options granted
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on or after the date of such amendment shall terminate to the extent that such
amendment to the Plan was required to enable the Company to grant such option to
a particular optionee. Subject to this limitation, options may be granted under
the Plan at any time after the effective date and before the date fixed for
termination of the Plan.
(b) Termination. Unless sooner terminated in accordance with Section 16,
the Plan shall terminate upon the earlier of (i) the close of business on the
day next preceding the tenth anniversary of the date of its adoption by the
Board of Directors, or (ii) the date on which all shares available for issuance
under the Plan shall have been issued pursuant to the exercise or cancellation
of options granted under the Plan. If the date of termination is determined
under (i) above, then options outstanding on such date shall continue to have
force and effect in accordance with the provisions of the instruments evidencing
such options.
23. Provision for Foreign Participants.
The Board of Directors may, without amending the Plan, modify awards or
options granted to participants who are foreign nationals or employed outside
the United States to recognize differences in laws, rules, regulations or
customs of such foreign jurisdictions with respect to tax, securities, currency,
employee benefit or other matters.
24. Governing Law.
The provisions of this Plan shall be governed and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of Delaware.
Adopted by the Board of Directors as of October 16, 1996
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