SiliconBeat

Back in April, the compensation committee on the board at Avistar Communications (Nasdaq: AVSR), approved a bonus structure for its chief executive, Simon Moss, who joined the company in January. Under it, his target bonus was set at $200,000, payable in quarterly installments based on the achievement of certain financial performance targets.

Moss also gets to participate in a “broad-based discretionary bonus pool” that will be available to all employees at Avistar if the company achieves certain targets related to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) as well as cash balance goals.

“While the performance targets set by the Board have not been fully met at this time,” the San Mateo company said in a filing Thursday it nevertheless decided on Oct. 17 to give Moss a $50,000 bonus payment “in recognition of his contributions for the year to date.”

Avistar, which makes networked video communications products, has been playing David against Microsoft’s Goliath over some of its patent portfolio, and faring rather well.

Now should the board determine that the “approved bonus plan parameters” are met prior to the end of the year, this payment will be deducted from any bonus that is subsequently earned. Bottom line, however: “In any case, Mr. Moss will receive no less than $50,000 in total bonus payments for 2008.”

Avistar’s shares have been a bit bi-polar lately,  having gained or dropped dropped 16 percent or more in six out of the last eleven trading sessions. The company, which had been under the threat of delisting earlier this year because its shares were trading under $1, regained compliance in June, but they sank back below on Thursday, closing at at 95 cents. That’s still up more than 160 percent so far this year.