A smart contract is a self-executing computer program with the terms of the agreement written directly into lines of code. It is stored and replicated on a blockchain network. Smart contracts enable ...

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What’s the utility of a so-called ‘smart contract’ if its enforceability in traditional legal systems is a grey area? Most would agree that thorny questions such as this pose a major constraint on the ...

Ted Mlynar and Ira Schaefer are partners in the Intellectual Property practice at Hogan Lovells in New York City. They advise on patent and other intellectual property issues relating to blockchain ...

Update (25 July, 2025 at 3:00 PM UTC): This article has been updated to add commentary by Shantanu Sontakke, security engineer at web3 security firm Zokyo Smart-contract developers and auditors told ...

A smart contract is an application that uses blockchain and acts as a digital contract supported by a set of rules. Smart contracts are not considered contracts in the legal sense in most ...