Blockchain Technology Industry

Industries | Blockchain Technology

Our experienced lawyers help blockchain technology companies navigate the legal landscape and proactively advise on unique legal issues faced by the blockchain technology industry.

Blockchain technology is a digital ledger that records transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network. A blockchain database uses a distributed peer-to-peer computer network to facilitate recording transactions in a manner that allows participants to easily verify transactions. Blockchain technology is used in smart contracts, bank record keeping, digital property distribution, cryptocurrency, and other electronic authentication scenarios.

Common legal issues faced by blockchain technology companies include:

Entity formation, capital, and financing strategies;
Brand protection;
Ownership and registration of intellectual property in software and other technology;
Acquisition of and enforcement of trademarks, patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights against infringers;
Employment and independent contractor agreements;
Licensing agreements including end user license agreements (EULAs);
Software development agreements;
Strategies for developing and protecting trade secrets;
Intellectual property indemnification agreements;
Non-disclosure agreements;
Identification of potentially applicable international laws;
Strategy to protect and monetize intellectual property rights; and
Defense of third-party infringement claims.
Due diligence to ensure that an algorithm/scheme is as secure as a proponent claims. This is mostly a technical issue, but legal issues are implicated in various scenarios such as M&A and contractual breach (for example, improper recordation of a transaction).
Compliance with privacy laws (varies by jurisdiction and this technology is often applied globally – European data directive and GDPR are implicated).
A botched transaction is hard to correct because of the distributed nature of the recording system. Essentially, to fix a transfer to an incorrect entity, you need to have the incorrect entity assign to the correct one which can be exceedingly difficult due to the potentially anonymous nature of the incorrect entity (probably even more of an issue for cryptocurrency).