Does the phrase "at will employment" ring a bell?

Choose your battles in business wisely -- making a philosophical stand could have a heavy financial impact on you.

You may not "get fired" over taking a stand -- but it would probably put you in the "not a team player" camp.

Career-wise, that may be even worse (financially) than being fired. If your Company is planning an IPO, they probably have a substantial legal department... And enemies in Legal (the same people usually championing the patent process) are the worse kind of enemies to have. You may start getting the cold shoulder at review time, bonus time, and option-allotment time... Legal, unfortunately, isn't quiet when they have gripes -- and they usually have the means to pull strings like that!