NaturalNano, Inc. S-8
Exhibit
4.4
NATURALNANO, INC.
2009 STOCK INCENTIVE
PLAN
Section
1.
Establishment and Purpose .
The name of the plan is the Natural Nano, Inc.
Stock Incentive Plan (the " Plan ").
The purpose of the Plan is to provide key
employees, officers, directors, consultants and agents of Natural
Nano, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the " Company ") added
incentive for high levels of performance and to reward unusual
efforts which increase the earnings and long-term growth of the
Company. The judgment, initiative and efforts of valued employees
and other selected individuals upon whom the financial success and
growth of the Company largely depend will be entitled to purchase
proprietary interests in the Company.
Section
2.
Stock Subject to the Plan .
The total number of shares of stock reserved and
available for distribution under the Plan shall be 20,000,000
shares of common stock of the Company. The number of
shares reserved hereunder may consist in whole or in part of
authorized and unissued shares or treasury shares.
Upon exercise of the option in accordance with
the terms of this Plan and the Option Agreement (described in
Section 5 below), the grantee shall receive such shares of
stock of the Company set forth in the Notice of Option Grant
delivered to the grantee. A grantee to whom shares have
been issued upon proper exercise of an option granted hereunder
shall be entitled all rights of a shareholder, including, without
limitation, dividends, voting and liquidation rights.
Section
3.
Administration of the Plan .
The Plan shall be administered by a Committee
(the “ Committee” ). The decision of
the Committee as to all questions of interpretation and application
of the Plan shall be final, binding and conclusive on all
persons. The Committee may, in its sole discretion,
grant options for shares of the Company’s stock to such
eligible individuals as it deems appropriate and issue stock upon
exercise of such options. The Committee shall have
authority, subject to the express provisions of the Plan, to
construe the 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 Option Agreements, which
may, but 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 shall be the sole and final judge of such
expediency. All decisions, interpretations and other
actions of the Committee shall be final and binding.
The Committee shall not be liable for any action
or determination made in good faith. The functions of the Committee
shall be exercised by the Board of Directors of the Company, if and
to the extent that no Committee exists which has the authority to
so administer the Plan.
Options may be granted to officers and employees
of the Company, as well as agents and consultants to the Company,
whether or not otherwise employees of the Company. In
determining the eligibility of an individual to be granted an
option under the Plan, as well as in determining the number of
shares to be optioned to any individual, the Committee shall take
into account the position and responsibilities of the individual
being considered, the nature and value to the Company of his or her
services and accomplishments, his or her present and potential
contribution to the success of the Company, and such other factors
as the Committee may deem relevant.
Section
5.
Option Agreement .
Each option shall be governed by Notice of
Option Grant and an option agreement (the “ Option
Agreement” ) duly executed on behalf of the Company and
by the grantee to whom such option is granted. The
Option Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of
the Plan and may be subject to any other terms and conditions which
are not inconsistent with the Plan and which the Committee deems
appropriate for inclusion in the Option Agreement. The
provisions of the various Option Agreements entered into under the
Plan need not be identical.
Section
6.
Option Price and Exercise of Option .
The exercise price shall be determined by the
Committee in its sole and absolute discretion. Each
option shall be exercisable at such time or times and during such
period as shall be set forth in the Notice of Option Grant and/or
Option Agreement. To the extent that an option is not
exercised when it becomes initially exercisable, it shall be
carried forward and shall be exercisable, on a cumulative basis,
until the expiration of the exercise period.
Section
7.
Term of Option; Exercisability .
(i) Each
option shall expire five (5) years from the date of the granting
thereof, except as (y) otherwise provided pursuant to the provision
of Section 7(b) hereof and (z) earlier termination as herein
provided.
(ii) Except
as otherwise provided in this Section 7, an option granted to any
grantee who ceases to perform services for the Company shall
terminate three (3) months after the date such grantee ceases to
perform services for the Company.
(iii) If
the grantee ceases to perform services for the Company because of
dismissal for cause or because the grantee is in breach of any
agreement with the Company, such option shall terminate on the date
the grantee is dismissed, ceases to perform services for the
Company or when the agreement with the Company was
breached.
(iv) If
the grantee ceases to perform services for the Company because the
grantee has become disabled (as determined in the sole discretion
of Committee), such option shall terminate on the next immediate
anniversary date of the option grant date following the date such
grantee ceases to perform services for the Company, or on the date
on which the option expires by its terms, whichever occurs
first. For example, if the option was granted on January
1 st and the grantee became disabled on July 1
st , the option would terminate on the following
January 1 st
.
(v) In
the event of the death of a grantee, any option granted to such
grantee shall terminate on the next immediate anniversary date of
the option grant date after the date of death, or on the date on
which the option expires by its specific terms, whichever occurs
first.
(vi) If
any terms of this Plan are inconsistent with any provisions in an
employment agreement existing as of the date of this Plan’s
adoption, the provisions in the employment agreement will
control.
(i) Each
Option Agreement shall specify the