] Google may have run afoul of securities laws when it
] doled out millions of shares to employees and consultants
] over the past three years, according to a document filed
] Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Whoops. 23 million unregistered shares, 5.6 million unregistered options... these are not small numbers that the SEC or market will overlook. Frankly, there are some pretty creative things that Google is doing, but while ideologically I probably agree with where they are coming from (Buffett is an influence for both), the execution seems far more dubious and less well thought out. Like the minimal lockout periods.

Google may have issued shares illegally | CNET News.com