Exhibit 10.12

THE SHARES ISSUABLE UPON VESTING OF THIS AWARD WILL NOT BE RELEASED TO YOU
UNTIL ALL APPLICABLE WITHHOLDING TAXES HAVE BEEN COLLECTED FROM YOU OR
HAVE OTHERWISE BEEN PROVIDED FOR.

AMAZON.COM, INC.

RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT

TO: <<Participant>>

     To encourage your continued employment with Amazon.com, Inc. (the
“Company”) or its Subsidiaries, you have been granted this restricted stock unit
award (the “Award”) pursuant to the Company’s 1997 Stock Incentive Plan (the
“Plan”). The Award represents the right to receive shares of Common Stock of the
Company subject to the fulfillment of the vesting conditions set forth in this
agreement (this “Agreement”).

     The terms of the Award are as set forth in this Agreement and in the Plan.
The Plan is incorporated into this Agreement by reference, which means that this
Agreement is limited by and subject to the express terms and provisions of the
Plan. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the
terms of the Plan, the terms of the Plan shall control. Capitalized terms that
are not defined in this Agreement have the meanings given to them in the Plan.
The most important terms of the Award are summarized as follows:

  1.   Award Date:     2.   Number of Restricted Stock Units Subject to this
Award:     3.   Vesting Base Date:     4.   Vesting Schedule: The Award will
vest according to the following schedule:

Period of Participant’s Continuous     Employment From the     Vesting Base Date
    Percent of Total Award That is Vested    

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     [Optional: Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time you become an
officer required to file reports pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, then with respect to any part of this Award
that is then unvested, vesting shall in addition be contingent on and subject to
satisfaction of such performance criteria for such performance period as the
Plan Administrator shall establish with specific reference to this Award, and
this Award shall be cancelled without the issuance of Common Stock if and to the
extent any such performance criteria are not satisfied.]

 

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     5.     Conversion of Restricted Stock Units and Issuance of Shares. Upon
each vesting of the Award (each, a “Vest Date”), one share of Common Stock shall
be issuable for each restricted stock unit that vests on such Vest Date (the
“Shares”), subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.
Thereafter, the Company will transfer such Shares to you upon satisfaction of
any required tax withholding obligations. No fractional shares shall be issued
under this Agreement.

     6.     Termination of Employment. The unvested portion of the Award will
terminate automatically and be forfeited to the Company immediately and without
further notice upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of your employment
for any reason with the Company or any Subsidiary (including as a result of
death or disability). A transfer of employment or services between or among the
Company and its Subsidiaries shall not be considered a termination of
employment. Unless the Plan Administrator determines otherwise, and except as
otherwise required by local law, for purposes of this Award only, any reduction
in your regular hours of employment to less than 30 hours per week is deemed a
termination of your employment with the Company or any Subsidiary. In case of
termination of your employment for Cause, the Award shall automatically
terminate upon first notification to you of such termination, unless the Plan
Administrator determines otherwise. If your employment is suspended pending an
investigation of whether you should be terminated for Cause, all of your rights
under the Award likewise shall be suspended during the period of investigation.
No Shares shall be issued or issuable with respect to any portion of the Award
that terminates unvested and is forfeited.

     7.     Leave of Absence and Change in Work Schedule. Your rights under the
Award in the event of a leave of absence or a change in your regularly scheduled
hours of employment (other than a change addressed in Section 6 of this
Agreement) will be affected in accordance with the Company’s applicable
employment policies or the terms of any agreement between you and your employer
with respect thereto.

     8.     Right to Shares. You shall not have any right in, to or with respect
to any of the Shares (including any voting rights or rights with respect to
dividends paid on the Common Stock) issuable under the Award until the Award is
settled by the issuance of such Shares to you.

     9.     Taxes.

     (a) Generally. You are ultimately liable and responsible for all taxes owed
in connection with the Award, regardless of any action the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries takes with respect to any tax withholding obligations that arise in
connection with the Award. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries makes
any representation or undertaking regarding the treatment of any tax withholding
in connection with the grant or vesting of the Award or the subsequent sale of
Shares issuable pursuant to the Award. The Company and its Subsidiaries do not
commit and are under no obligation to structure the Award to reduce or eliminate
your tax liability. As a condition and term of this Award, no election under
Section 83(b) of the United States Internal Revenue Code may be made by you or
any other person with respect to all or any portion of the Award.

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     (b)  Payment of Withholding Taxes. Prior to any event in connection with
the Award (e.g., vesting) that the Company determines may result in any domestic
or foreign tax withholding obligation, whether national, federal, state or
local, including any social tax obligation (the “Tax Withholding Obligation”),
you must arrange for the satisfaction of the minimum amount of such Tax
Withholding Obligation in a manner acceptable to the Company.

     (i)  By Sale of Shares. Unless you choose to satisfy the Tax Withholding
Obligation by some other means in accordance with clause (ii) below, your
acceptance of this Award constitutes your instruction and authorization to the
Company and any brokerage firm determined acceptable to the Company for such
purpose to sell on your behalf a whole number of Shares from those Shares
issuable to you as the Company determines to be appropriate to generate cash
proceeds sufficient to satisfy the Tax Withholding Obligation. Such Shares will
be sold on the day the Tax Withholding Obligation arises (e.g., a Vest Date) or
as soon thereafter as practicable. You will be responsible for all broker’s fees
and other costs of sale, and you agree to indemnify and hold the Company
harmless from any losses, costs, damages, or expenses relating to any such sale.
To the extent the proceeds of such sale exceed your Tax Withholding Obligation,
the Company agrees to pay such excess in cash to you through payroll as soon as
practicable. You acknowledge that the Company or its designee is under no
obligation to arrange for such sale at any particular price, and that the
proceeds of any such sale may not be sufficient to satisfy your Tax Withholding
Obligation. Accordingly, you agree to pay to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries as soon as practicable, including through additional payroll
withholding, any amount of the Tax Withholding Obligation that is not satisfied
by the sale of Shares described above.

     (ii)  By Check, Wire Transfer or Other Means. At any time not less than
five (5) business days before any Tax Withholding Obligation arises (e.g., a
Vest Date), you may elect to satisfy your Tax Withholding Obligation by
delivering to the Company an amount that the Company determines is sufficient to
satisfy the Tax Withholding Obligation by (i) wire transfer to such account as
the Company may direct, (ii) delivery of a certified check payable to the
Company, c/o Stock Administration, P.O. Box 81226, Seattle, WA 98108-1226, or
such other address as the Company may from time to time direct, or (iii) such
other means as the Company may establish or permit.

     (c)  Right to Retain Shares. The Company may refuse to issue any Shares to
you until you satisfy the Tax Withholding Obligation. To the maximum extent
permitted by law, the Company has the right to retain without notice from Shares
issuable under the Award or from salary or other amounts payable to you, Shares
or cash having a value sufficient to satisfy the Tax Withholding Obligation.

     10.     Registration. The Company currently has an effective registration
statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to
the shares of Common Stock subject to the Award. The Company intends to maintain
this registration but has no obligation to do so. If the registration ceases to
be effective, you will not be able to transfer or sell Shares issued to you
pursuant to the Award unless exemptions from registration under applicable
securities laws are available. Such exemptions from registration are very
limited and might be

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unavailable. You agree that any resale by you of the shares of Common Stock
issued pursuant to the Award shall comply in all respects with the requirements
of all applicable securities laws, rules and regulations (including, without
limitation, the provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the
respective rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) and any other law, rule
or regulation applicable thereto, as such laws, rules, and regulations may be
amended from time to time. The Company shall not be obligated to either issue
the Shares or permit the resale of any Shares if such issuance or resale would
violate any such requirements.

     11.     Limitation on Rights; No Right to Future Grants; Extraordinary
Item. By entering into this Agreement and accepting the Award, you acknowledge
that: (a) the Plan is discretionary and may be modified, suspended or terminated
by the Company at any time as provided in the Plan; (b) the grant of the Award
is a one-time benefit and does not create any contractual or other right to
receive future grants of awards or benefits in lieu of awards; (c) all
determinations with respect to any such future grants, including, but not
limited to, the times when awards will be granted, the number of shares subject
to each award, the award price, if any, and the time or times when each award
will be settled, will be at the sole discretion of the Company; (d) your
participation in the Plan is voluntary; (e) the value of the Award is an
extraordinary item which is outside the scope of your employment contract, if
any; (f) the Award is not part of normal or expected compensation for any
purpose, including without limitation for calculating any benefits, severance,
resignation, termination, redundancy, end of service payments, bonuses,
long-service awards, pension or retirement benefits or similar payments; (g) the
future value of the Common Stock subject to the Award is unknown and cannot be
predicted with certainty, (h) neither the Plan, the Award nor the issuance of
the Shares confers upon you any right to continue in the employ of (or any other
relationship with) the Company or any Subsidiary, nor do they limit in any
respect the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to terminate your employment
or other relationship with the Company or any Subsidiary, as the case may be, at
any time and (i) in the event that you are not a direct employee of Company, the
grant of the Award will not be interpreted to form an employment relationship
with the Company; and furthermore, the grant of the Award will not be
interpreted to form an employment contract with your employer, the Company or
any Subsidiary.

     12.     Execution of Award Agreement. Please acknowledge your acceptance of
the terms and conditions of the Award by signing the original of this Agreement
and returning it to your local HR Generalist. If you do not sign and return this
Agreement, the Company is not obligated to provide you any benefit hereunder and
may refuse to issue shares to you under this Award.

          Very truly yours,           AMAZON.COM, INC.           By:

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Name:

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Title:

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ACCEPTANCE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

     I, a resident of           (state, or country if other than U.S.), accept
and agree to the terms of the Restricted Stock Unit Award described in this
Agreement and in the Plan, acknowledge receipt of a copy of this Agreement, the
Plan and the applicable Plan Summary, and acknowledge that I have read them
carefully and that I fully understand their contents.

      Dated:

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Taxpayer I.D. Number  

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<<Participant>>           Address:

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