A practical suite of ready-to-use agreements built to help innovators move faster with fewer legal blind spots — designed for the realities of decentralized development.
Cardano projects rarely look like traditional client-vendor relationships. Distributed contributors, layered infrastructure, deployment into a live permissionless network. The Cardano Contract Suite was built to address the friction that surfaces when code is ready to ship — unclear IP rights, loose scopes, ambiguous handover terms. The four contracts fit together across the lifecycle of an engagement: the Mutual NDA is signed first, before substantive talks begin; the Master Services Agreement governs paid work once it starts, with each project scoped through individual Service Orders; the Service Level Agreement bolts onto the MSA when uptime and support obligations matter; and the Contractor Agreement is used to engage individual contributors rather than service-provider entities.
Cardano-specific: Built for the pre-deal phase, including DAOs and pre-incorporation teams. Includes a Web3-specific clause for information stored on immutable or decentralized systems.
Cardano-specific: Signed once, runs indefinitely. Each engagement (audit, frontend module, validator tooling) gets its own Service Order without renegotiating standard terms.
Cardano-specific: Excludes downtime caused by protocol-level disruptions, chain congestion, or third-party node failures — events outside the provider's control.
Cardano-specific: Supports payment in stablecoins or ADA pegged to a USD reference rate. Right of substitution preserves independent contractor status across distributed teams.
Each template includes a clean editable version and a guidelines version with clause-by-clause notes. Open in Google Docs. Use File → Make a copy to edit.
Protect confidential information during early-stage collaboration before formal agreements are signed.
Framework for ongoing client engagements, scoped through individual Service Orders without renegotiating standard terms.
Define uptime, support tiers, and response times with protocol-level carve-outs for Cardano environments.
Engage individual contributors with clear IP ownership, scope, and payment terms including ADA/stablecoin support.
An extended commentary on the clauses where disputes most often arise in Cardano development engagements — with the rationale for the positions taken in each template.
File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx) for an editable copy.
Choose the right agreement for your situation. Access it directly via Google Docs from this page.
Use the guidelines version for clause-level help. Understand exactly why each provision is included before you edit.
Download as DOCX or PDF. Have both parties sign. Keep a signed copy in your project records.
Templates are informational only and do not constitute legal advice.
Cardano's community-driven innovation fund. The Cardano Contract Suite was funded under Fund 13 as a Milestone 2 deliverable.
Visit Project Catalyst ↗Legal partner on both sides of the Atlantic. Built this suite to give founders the tools to move fast without legal blind spots.
Visit Sparring ↗Four templates. Two versions each. An extended commentary on every friction point that matters.