Sadly, it may be you who has missed the point. The US is the last remaining superpower; practically speaking, this means that there is one law for the US and another for the rest of the world. Specifically, it means that US citizens (John Walker Lindh, for example) can expect due process and full US constitutional protection for (alleged) crimes (alleged to have been) committed almost anywhere, while non-US citizens (like the Taliban/Quaeda prisoners at Guantanamo) can simply be locked up without charge or POW status and forgotten about. Maybe it was similar reasoning that led to a non-US company being used for the first major test of the DCMA. Now, if the US does not even use its *own* laws equitably between citizens and non-citizens, what are the chances that they will let a foreign government come after US-based companies or individuals, whatever the foreign laws may be? Slim to nothing, by my calculations...
Actually, many ISO plans allow you to execute a "cashless" transaction, where part of the proceeds from selling the stock is used to pay the (presumably lower) exercise price. So you can get cash out to the extent that the prevailing market price exceeds the exercise price. I know this works because I did it a couple years ago with a small grant of options (it was an old economy company). They were not worth much when I got them, but after a takeover and a stock split I suddenly had enough to buy a new truck. No substitue for a decent salary, though.
Slashdot Mirror
Sadly, it may be you who has missed the point. The US is the last remaining superpower; practically speaking, this means that there is one law for the US and another for the rest of the world. Specifically, it means that US citizens (John Walker Lindh, for example) can expect due process and full US constitutional protection for (alleged) crimes (alleged to have been) committed almost anywhere, while non-US citizens (like the Taliban/Quaeda prisoners at Guantanamo) can simply be locked up without charge or POW status and forgotten about. Maybe it was similar reasoning that led to a non-US company being used for the first major test of the DCMA. Now, if the US does not even use its *own* laws equitably between citizens and non-citizens, what are the chances that they will let a foreign government come after US-based companies or individuals, whatever the foreign laws may be? Slim to nothing, by my calculations...
Actually, many ISO plans allow you to execute a "cashless" transaction, where part of the proceeds from selling the stock is used to pay the (presumably lower) exercise price. So you can get cash out to the extent that the prevailing market price exceeds the exercise price. I know this works because I did it a couple years ago with a small grant of options (it was an old economy company). They were not worth much when I got them, but after a takeover and a stock split I suddenly had enough to buy a new truck. No substitue for a decent salary, though.