Check out the Wikipedia article on the Securities Act of 1933: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_Act_of_1933 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_Act_

Check out the Wikipedia article on the Securities Act of 1933: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_Act_of_1933 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_Act_of_1933 The SEC publication on rule 144 is also pretty accessible to people who are not lawyers and do not work in the securities industry: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/rule144.htm http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/rule144.htm