Exhibit 10.1

 

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

 

AGREEMENT, dated as of                        , 200  between Yahoo! Inc., a
Delaware corporation (the “Company”),
and                                     (“Indemnitee”).

 

RECITALS

 

WHEREAS, it is essential to the Company to retain and attract as directors and
officers the most capable persons available.

 

WHEREAS, Indemnitee is a director and/or officer of the Company.

 

WHEREAS, both the Company and Indemnitee recognize the increased risk of
litigation and other claims being asserted against directors and officers of
public companies in today’s environment.

 

WHEREAS, basic protection against undue risk of personal liability of directors
and officers heretofore has been provided through insurance coverage providing
reasonable protection at reasonable cost, and Indemnitee has relied on the
availability of such coverage; but as a result of substantial changes in the
marketplace for such insurance it has become increasingly more difficult to
obtain such insurance on terms providing reasonable protection at reasonable
cost.

 

WHEREAS, the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Company contemplate
indemnification and advancement of expenses to its directors and officers to the
fullest extent permitted by law and the Indemnitee has been serving and
continues to serve as a director and/or officer of the Company in part in
reliance on such Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws.

 

WHEREAS, the current difficulty in obtaining adequate director and officer
liability insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and uncertainties as to the
availability of indemnification created by recent court decisions have increased
the risk that the Company will be unable to retain and attract as directors and
officers the most capable persons available.

 

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company has determined that the inability
of the Company to retain and attract as directors and officers the most capable
persons would be detrimental to the interests of the Company and that the
Company therefore should seek to assure such persons that indemnification and
insurance coverage will be available in the future.

 

WHEREAS, in recognition of Indemnitee’s need for substantial protection against
personal liability in order to enhance Indemnitee’s continued service to the
Company in an effective manner, and Indemnitee’s reliance on the Company’s
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, and in part to provide Indemnitee with
specific contractual assurance that the protection promised by such Certificate
of Incorporation or Bylaws will be available to Indemnitee (regardless of, among
other things, any amendment to or revocation of such Certificate of
Incorporation or Bylaws or any change in the

 

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composition of the Company’s Board of Directors or acquisition transaction
relating to the Company), the Company wishes to provide in this Agreement for
the indemnification of and the advancing of expenses to Indemnitee to the
fullest extent (whether partial or complete) permitted by law and as set forth
in this Agreement, and, to the extent insurance is maintained, for the continued
coverage of Indemnitee under the Company’s directors’ and officers’ liability
insurance policies.

 

AGREEMENT

 

In consideration of the premises and of Indemnitee continuing to serve the
Company directly or, at its request, another enterprise, and intending to be
legally bound hereby, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.                                      Certain Definitions.  In addition to
terms defined elsewhere herein, the following terms have the following meanings
when used in this Agreement:

 

(a)                                 Change in Control:  shall be deemed to have
occurred if (i) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and
14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), other than a trustee
or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the
Company or a corporation owned directly or indirectly by the stockholders of the
Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the
Company, is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under
said Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing
twenty percent (20%) or more of the total voting power represented by the
Company’s then outstanding Voting Securities, or (ii) during any period of two
consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute
the Board of Directors of the Company and any new director whose election by the
Board of Directors or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was
approved by a vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the directors then still in
office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose
election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any
reason to constitute a majority thereof, or (iii) the stockholders of the
Company approve a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other
corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the
Voting Securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto
continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted
into Voting Securities of the surviving entity) at least sixty percent (60%) of
the total voting power represented by the Voting Securities of the Company or
such surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or
consolidation, or the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete
liquidation of the Company or an agreement for the sale or disposition by the
Company of (in one transaction or a series of transactions) all or substantially
all the Company’s assets.

 

(b)                                 Claim:  means any threatened, asserted,
pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, or appeal thereof, or any
inquiry or investigation, whether instituted by the Company or any governmental
agency or any other party, that Indemnitee in good faith believes might lead to
the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal,
administrative, investigative or other, including any arbitration or other
alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

 

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(c)                                  Expenses:  include attorneys’ fees and all
other costs, expenses and obligations (including, without limitation, experts’
fees, court costs, retainers, transcript fees, duplicating, printing and binding
costs, as well as telecommunications, postage and courier charges) paid or
incurred in connection with investigating, defending, being a witness in or
participating in, or preparing to investigate, defend, be a witness in or
participate in, any Claim relating to any Indemnifiable Event.

 

(d)                                 Indemnifiable Amounts:  means any and all
Expenses, damages, judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes and amounts paid in
settlement (including all interest, assessments and other charges paid or
payable in connection with or in respect of such Expenses, judgments, fines,
penalties, excise taxes or amounts paid in settlement) arising out of or
resulting from any Claim relating to an Indemnifiable Event.

 

(e)                                  Indemnifiable Event:  means any event or
occurrence, whether occurring before, on or after the date of this Agreement,
related to the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director and/or officer or
fiduciary of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as
a director, officer, employee, trustee, agent or fiduciary of another
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee
benefit plan, trust or other entity or enterprise, or by reason of anything done
or not done by Indemnitee in any such capacity.

 

(f)                                   Independent Legal Counsel:  means an
attorney or firm of attorneys, selected in accordance with the provisions of
Section 3 hereof, who is experienced in matters of corporate law and who shall
not have otherwise performed services for the Company or Indemnitee within the
last five years (other than with respect to matters concerning the rights of
Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnity
agreements).

 

(g)                                  Reviewing Party:  means any appropriate
person or body consisting of a member or members of the Company’s Board of
Directors or any other person or body appointed by the Board who is not a party
to the particular Claim for which Indemnitee is seeking indemnification, or
Independent Legal Counsel.

 

(h)                                 Voting Securities:  means any securities of
the Company which vote generally in the election of directors.

 

2.                                      Basic Indemnification Arrangement;
Advancement of Expenses.

 

(a)                                 In the event Indemnitee was, is or becomes a
party to or witness or other participant in, or is threatened to be made a party
to or witness or other participant in, a Claim by reason of (or arising in part
out of) an Indemnifiable Event, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee to the
fullest extent permitted by law as soon as practicable but in any event no later
than thirty days after written demand is presented to the Company, against any
and all Indemnifiable Amounts.

 

(b)                                 If so requested by Indemnitee, the Company
shall advance (within five (5) business days of such request) any and all
Expenses incurred by Indemnitee (an “Expense Advance”).  The Company shall, in
accordance with such request (but without

 

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duplication), either (i) pay such Expenses on behalf of Indemnitee, or
(ii) reimburse Indemnitee for such Expenses.  Subject to the limitations
contained in Sections 2(c) and 2(d), Indemnitee’s right to an Expense Advance is
absolute and shall not be subject to any prior determination by the Reviewing
Party or any other person, that the Indemnitee has satisfied any applicable
standard of conduct for indemnification.

 

(c)                                  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement
to the contrary, Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification or
advancement of Expenses pursuant to this Agreement in connection with any Claim
initiated by Indemnitee unless (i) the Company has joined in or Company’s Board
of Directors has authorized or consented to the initiation of such Claim or
(ii) the Claim is one to enforce Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.

 

(d)                                 Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement
to the contrary, (i) the indemnification obligations of the Company under
Section 2(a) shall be subject to the condition that the Reviewing Party shall
not have determined (in a written opinion, in any case in which the Independent
Legal Counsel referred to in Section 3 hereof is involved) that Indemnitee would
not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law, and (ii) the obligation
of the Company to make an Expense Advance pursuant to Section 2(b) shall be
subject to the condition that, if, when and to the extent that the Reviewing
Party determines that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be so indemnified
under applicable law, the Company shall be entitled to be reimbursed by
Indemnitee (who hereby agrees to reimburse the Company) for all such amounts
theretofore paid (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing agreement by
Indemnitee shall be deemed to satisfy any requirement that Indemnitee provide
the Company with an undertaking to repay any Expense Advance if it is ultimately
determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under
applicable law); provided, however, that if Indemnitee has commenced or
thereafter commences legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to
secure a determination that Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable
law, any determination made by the Reviewing Party that Indemnitee would not be
permitted to be indemnified under applicable law shall not be binding and
Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any Expense
Advance until a final judicial determination is made with respect thereto (as to
which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed). 
Indemnitee’s undertaking to repay such Expense Advances shall be unsecured and
interest-free.  If there has not been a Change in Control, the Reviewing Party
shall be selected by the Company’s Board of Directors, and if there has been
such a Change in Control, the Reviewing Party shall be the Independent Legal
Counsel referred to in Section 3 hereof.  If there has been no determination by
the Reviewing Party within thirty days after written demand is presented to the
Company or if the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee would not be
permitted to be indemnified in whole or in part under applicable law, Indemnitee
shall have the right to commence litigation in any court in the States of
California or Delaware having subject matter jurisdiction thereof and in which
venue is proper seeking an initial determination by the court or challenging any
such determination by the Reviewing Party or any aspect thereof, including the
legal or factual bases therefor, and the Company hereby consents to service of
process and to appear in any such proceeding.  Any determination by the

 

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Reviewing Party otherwise shall be conclusive and binding on the Company and
Indemnitee.

 

3.                                      Change in Control.  The Company agrees
that if there is a Change in Control of the Company then with respect to all
matters thereafter arising concerning the rights of Indemnitee to indemnity
payments and Expense Advances under this Agreement or any provision of the
Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws now or hereafter in effect, the
Company shall seek legal advice only from Independent Legal Counsel selected by
Indemnitee and approved by the Company (which approval shall not be unreasonably
delayed, conditioned or withheld).  Such counsel, among other things, shall
render its written opinion to the Company and Indemnitee as to whether and to
what extent the Indemnitee would be permitted to be indemnified under applicable
law.  The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees and disbursements of the
Independent Legal Counsel and to indemnify fully such counsel against any and
all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), claims, liabilities and damages
arising out of or relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant hereto.

 

4.                                      Indemnification for Additional
Expenses.  The Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against any and all Expenses
and, if requested by Indemnitee, shall advance such Expenses to Indemnitee
subject to and in accordance with Section 2(b), which are incurred by Indemnitee
in connection with any action brought by Indemnitee for (i) indemnification or
an Expense Advance by the Company under this Agreement or any provision of the
Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws now or hereafter in effect
and/or (ii) recovery under any directors’ and officers’ liability insurance
policies maintained by the Company, regardless of whether Indemnitee ultimately
is determined to be entitled to such indemnification, Expense Advance or
insurance recovery, as the case may be.

 

5.                                      Partial Indemnity, Etc.  If Indemnitee
is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the
Company for some or a portion of the Expenses or other Indemnifiable Amounts in
respect of a Claim but not, however, for all of the total amount thereof, the
Company shall nevertheless indemnify Indemnitee for the portion thereof to which
Indemnitee is entitled.  Moreover, notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or
otherwise in defense of any or all Claims relating in whole or in part to an
Indemnifiable Event or in defense of any issue or matter therein, including
dismissal without prejudice, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all
Expenses incurred in connection therewith.

 

6.                                      Burden of Proof.  In connection with any
determination by the Reviewing Party or otherwise as to whether Indemnitee is
entitled to be indemnified hereunder the Reviewing Party or court shall presume
that the Indemnitee has satisfied the applicable standard of conduct and is
entitled to indemnification, and the burden of proof shall be on the Company to
establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that Indemnitee is not so entitled.

 

7.                                      Reliance as Safe Harbor.  For purposes
of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith and in
a manner he or she reasonably

 

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believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company if
Indemnitee’s actions or omissions to act are taken in good faith reliance upon
the records of the Company, including its financial statements, or upon
information, opinions, reports or statements furnished to Indemnitee by the
officers or employees of the Company in the course of their duties, or by
committees of the Company’s Board of Directors, or by any other person
(including legal counsel, accountants, consultants and financial advisors) as to
matters Indemnitee reasonably believes are within such other person’s
professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care
by or on behalf of the Company.  In addition, the knowledge and/or actions, or
failures to act, of any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company
shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining the right to
indemnity hereunder.

 

8.                                      No Other Presumptions.  For purposes of
this Agreement, the termination of any claim, action, suit or proceeding, by
judgment, order, settlement (whether with or without court approval) or
conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere, or its equivalent, shall not
create a presumption that Indemnitee did not meet any particular standard of
conduct or have any particular belief or that a court has determined that
indemnification is not permitted by applicable law.  In addition, neither the
failure of the Reviewing Party to have made a determination as to whether
Indemnitee has met any particular standard of conduct or had any particular
belief, nor an actual determination by the Reviewing Party that Indemnitee has
not met such standard of conduct or did not have such belief, prior to the
commencement of legal proceedings by Indemnitee to secure a judicial
determination that Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable law shall
be a defense to Indemnitee’s claim or create a presumption that Indemnitee has
not met any particular standard of conduct or did not have any particular
belief.

 

9.                                      Nonexclusivity, Etc.  The rights of the
Indemnitee hereunder shall be in addition to any other rights Indemnitee may
have under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or the Delaware
General Corporation Law or otherwise.  To the extent that a change in applicable
law (whether by statute or judicial decision) permits greater indemnification by
agreement than would be afforded currently under the Company’s Certificate of
Incorporation or Bylaws or this Agreement, it is the intent of the parties
hereto that Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits so
afforded by such change.

 

10.                               Liability Insurance.  To the extent the
Company maintains an insurance policy or policies providing directors’ and
officers’ liability insurance, Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or
policies, in accordance with its or their terms, to the maximum extent of the
coverage available for any Company director or officer.

 

11.                               Period of Limitations.  No legal action shall
be brought and no cause of action shall be asserted by or in the right of the
Company against Indemnitee, Indemnitee’s spouse, heirs, executors or personal or
legal representatives after the expiration of two years from the date of accrual
of such cause of action, and any claim or cause of action of the Company shall
be extinguished and deemed released unless asserted by the timely filing of a
legal action within such two-year period; provided,

 

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however, that if any shorter period of limitations is otherwise applicable to
any such cause of action such shorter period shall govern.

 

12.                               Amendments, Etc.  No supplement, modification
or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by
both of the parties hereto.  No waiver of any of the provisions of this
Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions
hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing
waiver.

 

13.                               Subrogation.  In the event of payment under
this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to
all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee, who shall execute all papers
reasonably required and shall do everything that may be reasonably necessary to
secure such rights, including the execution of such documents necessary to
enable the Company effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.

 

14.                               No Duplication of Payments.  The Company shall
not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment in connection with any
Claim made against Indemnitee to the extent Indemnitee has otherwise actually
received payment (under any insurance policy, Certificate of Incorporation or
Bylaws provision or otherwise) of the amounts otherwise indemnifiable hereunder.

 

15.                               Defense of Claims.  The Company shall be
entitled to participate in the defense of any Claim relating to an Indemnifiable
Event or to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to
the Indemnitee; provided that if Indemnitee believes, after consultation with
counsel selected by Indemnitee, that (i) the use of counsel chosen by the
Company to represent Indemnitee would present such counsel with an actual or
potential conflict of interest, (ii) the named parties in any such Claim
(including any impleaded parties) include both the Company and Indemnitee and
Indemnitee concludes that there may be one or more legal defenses available to
him or her that are different from or in addition to those available to the
Company, or (iii) any such representation by such counsel would be precluded
under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, then
Indemnitee shall be entitled to retain separate counsel (but not more than one
law firm plus, if applicable, local counsel in respect of any particular Claim)
at the Company’s expense.  The Company shall not be liable to Indemnitee under
this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of any Claim relating to an
Indemnifiable Event effected without the Company’s prior written consent.  The
Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Indemnitee, effect
any settlement of any Claim relating to an Indemnifiable Event which the
Indemnitee is or could have been a party unless such settlement solely involves
the payment of money and includes a complete and unconditional release of
Indemnitee from all liability on all claims that are the subject matter of such
Claim.  Neither the Company nor Indemnitee shall unreasonably withhold its or
his or her consent to any proposed settlement; provided that Indemnitee may
withhold consent to any settlement that does not provide a complete and
unconditional release of Indemnitee.

 

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16.                               Binding Effect, Etc.  This Agreement shall be
binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties
hereto and their respective successors, (including any direct or indirect
successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or
substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company), assigns,
spouses, heirs, executors and personal and legal representatives.  The Company
shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase,
merger, consolidation, or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business
and/or assets of the Company, by written agreement in form and substance
satisfactory to Indemnitee and his or her counsel, expressly to assume and agree
to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the
Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place. 
This Agreement shall continue in effect regardless of whether Indemnitee
continues to serve as an officer and/or director of the Company or of any other
entity or enterprise at the Company’s request.

 

17.                               Security.  To the extent requested by
Indemnitee and approved by the Company’s Board of Directors, the Company may at
any time and from time to time provide security to Indemnitee for the
obligations of the Company hereunder through an irrevocable bank line of credit,
funded trust or other collateral or by other means.  Any such security, once
provided to Indemnitee, may not be revoked or released without the prior written
consent of such Indemnitee.

 

18.                               Severability.  The provisions of this
Agreement shall be severable in the event that any of the provisions hereof
(including any provision within a single section, paragraph or sentence) are
held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or otherwise
unenforceable in any respect, and the validity and enforceability of any such
provision in every other respect and of the remaining provisions hereof shall
not be in any way impaired and shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent
permitted by law.

 

19.                               Specific Performance, Etc.  The parties
recognize that if any provision of this Agreement is violated by the Company,
Indemnitee may be without an adequate remedy at law.  Accordingly, in the event
of any such violation, Indemnitee shall be entitled, if Indemnitee so elects, to
institute proceedings, either in law or at equity, to obtain damages, to enforce
specific performance, to enjoin such violation, or to obtain any relief or any
combination of the foregoing as Indemnitee may elect to pursue.

 

20.                               Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed
in counterparts, each of which shall for all purposes be deemed to be an
original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. 
Only one such counterpart signed by the party against whom enforceability is
sought needs to be produced to evidence the existence of this Agreement.

 

21.                               Headings.  The headings of the sections and
paragraphs of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be
deemed to constitute part of this Agreement or to affect the construction or
interpretation thereof.

 

22.                               Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be
governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State
of Delaware applicable to contracts

 

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made and to be performed in such state without giving effect to the principles
of conflicts of laws.

 

23.                               Entire Agreement.  This Agreement constitutes
the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter
hereof and supersedes all prior understandings and agreements between the
parties, whether written or oral, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the
date first above written.

 

 

YAHOO! INC.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indemnitee

 

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