Legal Context Protocol

Protocol Integration

How legal context references embed in existing agentic commerce protocols via extension mechanisms and spec contributions.

This section is advisory.

This section describes how legal context references can be embedded in existing agentic commerce protocols. No protocol requires core specification changes. All integrations use existing extension mechanisms.


Approach

The protocols are structurally different, so a single wire format cannot apply everywhere. The LCP standard provides three conventions:

  • lcp: prefix — for string fields, a self-identifying format: lcp:{type}:{value}
  • legalContext JSON key — for structured JSON metadata, a standard key with type and value fields
  • Raw bytes — for constrained fields (e.g., TIP-20's 32-byte memo), the raw content hash with no prefix

See Naming Conventions for the full specification.


Per-Protocol Guides

Each protocol integration specifies the exact field to use, the format (string prefix, JSON key, or raw bytes), when in the protocol flow it is set, size constraints, and how the receiving party reads and resolves the value.

ProtocolIntegration PointFormatPage
MPP402 challenge + receiptlcp: string + JSONMPP
ACPCheckout extensionJSONACP
x402extensions field + response headerJSON + Headerx402
UCPCheckout extension metadataJSONUCP
Visa TAPRequest body with linked signatureJSON (signed)Visa TAP
A2AAgent Card + task metadataJSONA2A
MCPTool annotations + descriptionsJSONMCP
AP2Alongside mandates (A2A transport or AP2 extension)JSONAP2
Mastercard Agent PayVerifiable Intent Layer 2SD-JWT credentialMastercard

Design Principle

LCP is complementary to every protocol in this table. It provides the legal layer that each defers. The protocols handle payments, checkout, and fulfillment. LCP handles terms, verification, and dispute resolution. The integration patterns show exactly where these layers connect.