A technology project needs a clear legal account of what the product does, who operates it and what users are promised. Kothari & Jain advises on technology agreements and the legal questions arising from blockchain and digital-asset business models. The use of a new technical architecture does not eliminate ordinary questions about contracts, ownership, consumer obligations or regulatory responsibility.
From product idea to legal scope
We begin with a practical walkthrough of the proposed service: how users join, what they pay, what they receive, how assets or information move and who can change or suspend the system. This helps distinguish a software-development project from a custody, exchange, investment or financial-service activity. The legal assessment should follow the actual functions rather than a marketing label.
- Software development, implementation, support and licensing agreements.
- Platform terms, user disclosures and commercial risk allocation.
- Ownership and licensing of code, content and technical documentation.
- Blockchain project structure and digital-asset regulatory issue identification.
- Vendor disputes, failed delivery, termination and access to project materials.
Digital assets require a separate assessment
A September 2026 Government release on FIU-IND enforcement addresses compliance by virtual digital asset service providers under the prevention-of-money-laundering framework. Applicability depends on the services performed. The FIU-IND website also publishes information about registration of VDA service providers as reporting entities.
Registration for anti-money-laundering purposes should not be presented to users as a government endorsement of a token, an investment guarantee or clearance of every other applicable law. Fundraising, payments, cross-border activity, tax treatment and financial regulation may raise separate questions. A project should obtain an activity-specific assessment before launch or expansion.
Contracts that reflect the working system
For development work, documents should identify deliverables, milestones, acceptance tests, change requests and support obligations. For an operating platform, responsibilities for access controls, outages, third-party dependencies and incident cooperation need attention. Smart-contract code and written terms should be examined together, especially where reversal, error correction or emergency suspension may be needed.
What to prepare
Share a product note, architecture and transaction-flow diagrams, draft user journeys, commercial model and proposed jurisdictions. Include the white paper if one exists, developer agreements, repository ownership details, token terms, custody arrangements and relevant regulatory correspondence. Provide descriptions or appropriately redacted records initially; do not send private keys, seed phrases, passwords or production credentials.
Common questions
Does calling a token a utility token settle its legal treatment?
No. Its functions, rights, distribution and associated representations require examination. The label alone is not a legal conclusion.
Is a smart contract a complete commercial agreement?
Code may perform transactions while leaving responsibility, governing law, disputed inputs and remedies unresolved. Written arrangements should address those gaps.
Does legal review include a security audit?
A technical security audit is a separate specialist exercise. Legal review can address audit responsibilities and contractual consequences, but should not be represented as verification that the code is secure.
Discuss your matter
To arrange a discussion, call +91 8793660616 or +91 7887718191, or use our contact page. Please initially share the parties’ names, a short description and any approaching deadline so that conflicts and the appropriate scope of assistance can be checked.