7Block Labs prevents IP disputes and deployment delays by engineering artifact-level traceability (Solidity, ZK) from day one, then operationalizing it for procurement, security, and legal. The result is audit-ready, zero lock‑in handoffs that accelerate approvals without sacrificing technical rigor.

We wrote this for Enterprise teams (Procurement, Legal, Security, Engineering) that care about SOC 2, SBOM/SLSA provenance, reproducible builds, and continuity planning.

7Block's Approach to IP Ownership and Source Code Handoff

Pain — “Where exactly is the IP, and can we operate it without the vendor?”

Typical symptoms we’re called in to resolve:

Compiled bytecode on mainnet can’t be re-verified because the exact compiler settings aren’t captured, stalling audits and L2 listings. Etherscan requires an exact match of compiler version and optimization parameters to reproduce the deployed bytes. (docs.etherscan.io)
Source files lack SPDX headers or mix incompatible licenses (e.g., AGPL snippets in a proprietary codebase). Solidity expects an SPDX identifier per file; omitting it triggers warnings and complicates downstream license scanning. (docs.soliditylang.org)
ZK proving keys and trusted setup artifacts live on an engineer’s laptop, not in controlled escrow with reproducible instructions. Circom/Groth16 flows rely on Powers of Tau, per-circuit Phase 2, and .zkey/verification key material — all of which must be versioned and reproducible. (docs.circom.io)
Procurement slows because SOC 2-aligned evidence, SBOMs, and provenance attestation aren’t attached to releases. Modern buyers expect SSDF/SBOM evidence; CycloneDX is now an ECMA standard and widely adopted across industries. (nist.gov)
In an adverse event (vendor insolvency or support lapse), there isn’t a tested path to a legally clean, technically complete code release. Standard escrow “release events” include bankruptcy, material support failure, and IP transfer without equivalent protection. (escrowlondon.com)

Agitation — Operational and financial risk compounds quickly

Missed exchange/partner integrations because contracts aren’t verifiable byte-for-byte on-chain. Security teams reject unverifiable deployments. Sourcify/Etherscan require exact metadata and source hashes; flattening sources breaks those hashes. (docs.sourcify.dev)
Redlines balloon in the MSA due to unclear IP and licensing, pushing product roadmaps back 1–2 quarters. SPDX alignment and OSI-approved license mapping are now basic hygiene for enterprise distribution. (spdx.org)
Costly rework: without deterministic builds (pinned solc, EVM target, optimizer runs), teams can’t regenerate the same bytecode after an upgrade, forcing “redeploy-and-migrate” instead of “verify-and-operate.” Solidity embeds a metadata hash (IPFS/Swarm) into bytecode; if you don’t persist and publish it, you lose the chain of custody. (docs.soliditylang.org)
ZK systems become single points of failure. If proving keys or setup notes are lost, circuits must be regenerated and redeployed, triggering governance and UI migrations. The Ethereum KZG ceremony shows the scale and documentation standards modern MPC setups aspire to. (blog.ethereum.org)
Procurement stalls without SOC 2-aligned controls, SBOMs and SLSA-level provenance to satisfy third‑party risk and EO 14028–style requests. (nist.gov)

Solution — 7Block’s “Own, Verify, Operate” handoff methodology

We design for “transferability under change” — you own the code and can operate it independently, with evidence your auditors will accept.

IP and licensing architecture (Week 0–2)

SPDX-first repository policy: every Solidity file starts with the correct SPDX identifier (e.g., MIT/Apache‑2.0) or UNLICENSED per your licensing posture. We block merges missing SPDX headers. (docs.soliditylang.org)
License bill of materials: we generate an SPDX-based inventory of all third‑party code (Solidity, JS/TS, Rust), flagging non‑OSI or “fair-code” variants (e.g., BSL) for counsel. The SPDX license list provides canonical short IDs and OSI markers. (spdx.org)
Business Source License awareness: if upstream components use BSL, we document the Change License/Change Date and confirm commercial licensing obligations, so you don’t inherit unintended copyleft or use restrictions. (mariadb.com)

Deterministic Solidity builds with byte-for-byte verification (Week 1–3)

Pin solc version, EVM target, optimizer runs, and metadata settings in CI. We produce the Standard JSON input, raw metadata, and compiler artifacts required by Sourcify and Etherscan. Sourcify matches on the metadata hash and source hashes; flattening is avoided. (docs.sourcify.dev)
Deployability without vendor: we record CREATE2 salts for deterministic addresses where appropriate and include the exact initcode and salts in the deployment manifest. (eips-wg.github.io)
Post-deploy checks: automatic Etherscan and Sourcify verification jobs fail the pipeline if the on-chain bytecode doesn’t match the build. (docs.etherscan.io)

ZK asset management (circuits, keys, ceremonies) (Week 2–5)

Circuit artifact catalog: R1CS, WASM, .zkey (proving), verification key JSON, Solidity verifier, and witness tooling captured per release with checksums. We use the canonical Circom/Groth16 flow including Powers of Tau and Phase 2 steps, with scripts to reproduce. (docs.circom.io)
Key custody and provenance: proving keys and trusted-setup outputs are versioned, checksummed, and escrowed. We attach ceremony documentation and reference exemplars (e.g., Ethereum’s KZG ceremony practices) to set expectations for multi-party integrity and reproducibility. (blog.ethereum.org)
Compatibility notes: we document curve/backend assumptions (BN254/BLS12‑381, Circom vs. Arkworks reductions) to prevent mismatched proving stacks during handoff. (github.com)

Supply chain evidence (SSDF, SBOM, SLSA) (Week 1–6)

SSDF alignment: we map your controls to NIST SSDF 1.1 practices (e.g., PO.5 secure build envs; PS.3.2 software provenance) and compile evidence for auditors and enterprise customers. (csrc.nist.gov)
SBOMs: generate CycloneDX SBOMs for on-chain and off-chain components (contract packages, SDKs, frontends), including version, license, and integrity data. CycloneDX is standardized as ECMA‑424 and supports SBOM/VEX/attestations. (owasp.org)
Provenance and signing: we attach SLSA provenance attestations and sign container/artifact releases with Sigstore Cosign (keyless/OIDC or KMS‑backed). This yields verifiable build-to-binary provenance your procurement teams can consume. (slsa.dev)

Repository governance and enterprise controls (Week 0–ongoing)

GitHub Enterprise guardrails: CODEOWNERS with required reviews, branch protection/rulesets (signed commits, linear history, required status checks), and 2FA/SSO. Audit logs stream to your SIEM with retention beyond the UI window. (docs.github.com)
Secrets/code scanning: enforce secret scanning and code scanning policies to keep credentials and insecure patterns out of your repos. (docs.github.com)

Escrow that actually works in production (Week 3–6)

Escrow contents: not just “source code,” but build scripts, toolchain pin files, deployment manifests, environment snapshots, ZK assets (proving/verification keys and setup transcripts), admin scripts, and runbooks.
Release events: we structure legally enforceable triggers — insolvency/bankruptcy, material support failure after cure period, or IP transfer without equivalent protection — aligned with industry practice. We also define verification steps to confirm escrow materials match on-chain bytecode and published metadata. (escrowlondon.com)

Handoff and continuity (Week 4–8)

“Operate without us” drills: reproducible builds, contract verification, key rotations, and disaster recovery rehearsals with your team.
Documentation deliverables: architecture decision records; SBOM + SLSA provenance; deployment manifests (incl. chain IDs per EIP‑155); key management; and runbooks for governance upgrades. (eips.ethereum.org)

Practical examples (Solidity + ZK) you can apply now

Solidity verification that survives upgrades

Pin solc 0.8.3x series explicitly and store the standard JSON input in version control; upgrades must include a migration note and new artifact set.
Ensure the Solidity metadata hash is published to IPFS and linked in your release assets; this enables anyone to fetch the metadata corresponding to your on-chain bytecode. (docs.soliditylang.org)
Use OpenZeppelin Contracts with a clearly documented version (e.g., 5.3/5.4 series) and include the license and commit hash in your SBOM so auditors can trace CVE exposure. (contracts.openzeppelin.com)

ZK proving key custody that auditors approve

For a Circom/Groth16 circuit: check in R1CS and WASM; generate Powers of Tau and Phase 2 contributions; produce .zkey and verification key; commit checksums; and export a Solidity verifier. Deposit all artifacts (and scripts) into escrow. (docs.circom.io)
Attach a short “ceremony dossier” (who, when, how entropy was generated, environment controls). The Ethereum KZG ceremony shows how contribution logs and methods build durable trust. (blog.ethereum.org)

Deterministic deployment playbook

Record CREATE2 salts and initcode for counterfactual deployments; include the derivation formula and the preimage elements in the handoff pack so counsel can validate address determinism. (eips-wg.github.io)
Capture chain ID and network parameters per EIP‑155 in your deployment manifest to avoid replay and mix‑ups across environments. (eips.ethereum.org)

Supply chain evidence that unblocks procurement

Export CycloneDX SBOMs for each release and sign them with Cosign; include SLSA provenance attestations listing builder identity, source commit, dependencies, and reproducible parameters. (owasp.org)
Map your dev lifecycle to SSDF 1.1 tasks in a single page buyers can file. Highlight secure build environments (PO.5) and provenance (PS.3.2). (csrc.nist.gov)

Emerging best practices we implement by default

“Exact-match” verification as a deploy gate: CI fails if Sourcify or Etherscan can’t reproduce the bytecode with the submitted metadata/inputs. This avoids post‑facto archaeology. (docs.sourcify.dev)
SPDX + license policy linting: block merges that introduce non‑approved licenses; require SPDX headers in all source files; generate license diffs in PRs so Legal sees changes early. (spdx.org)
SLSA‑attested releases signed with Sigstore: identity-bound, keyless signing for containers and artifacts with verifiable transparency logs. (docs.sigstore.dev)
ZK artifact escrow with integrity checks: escrowed proving keys and verifiers include SHA‑256 checksums; release validation re-builds verifiers and confirms on-chain verification passes using the escrowed verification key. (docs.circom.io)
GitHub Enterprise rulesets and CODEOWNERS to enforce separation of duties and auditable change control. Stream audit logs to your SIEM for retention beyond the UI window. (docs.github.com)

What you get from 7Block (deliverables)

IP/License Packet: SPDX license inventory, policy exceptions, and counsel-ready notes.
Build + Verify Bundle: Standard JSON inputs, solc version pins, EVM/optimizer config, metadata, and automated Sourcify/Etherscan verification scripts. (docs.sourcify.dev)
ZK Package: circuits, R1CS/WASM, proving and verification keys, ceremony notes, Solidity verifiers, and test vectors. (docs.circom.io)
Security + Compliance Evidence: CycloneDX SBOM, SLSA provenance, SSDF mapping, signed release artifacts. (owasp.org)
Escrow Kit: complete source, build pipeline definitions, environment manifests, keys (per policy), and a tested release-validation runbook referencing standard release triggers. (escrowlondon.com)

GTM proof — metrics we commit to in pilot programs

30–45% faster enterprise security reviews by shipping a signed SBOM + SLSA provenance bundle with each build, rather than responding ad hoc to questionnaires.
100% byte-for-byte contract verification on supported networks in CI prior to any production deployment (measured across pilot cohorts).
1-day mean time to restore build/verify capability from escrow materials in disaster simulations (no 7Block access).
0 unresolved license exceptions at go‑live; PR-level license diffs reduce Legal review cycles from weeks to days.
90–120 minutes for any engineer (not just the original authors) to regenerate a ZK proof with escrowed keys and pass on-chain verification, measured in runbooks.

How we align to your outcomes

Procurement and compliance: We package SOC 2‑aligned evidence, SSDF mappings, and traceable artifacts your auditors recognize. (aicpa-cima.com)
Engineering and security: We deliver a repository and pipeline you can actually run — deterministic builds, reproducible verification, and signed artifacts.
Legal and risk: We defuse redlines by proving license hygiene (SPDX) and by escrowing the full, tested operational footprint — not just tarballs. (spdx.org)

Where 7Block plugs in

Build and launch with our custom blockchain development services and smart contract development.
Harden and prove with our security audit services.
Integrate with legacy systems via blockchain integration and deliver user-facing value through dApp development.
When cross-chain is required, plan for deterministic addressing and message verification with our cross-chain solutions and bridge development.

Summary for executives

The risk isn’t just “who owns the code,” it’s “who can operate the system on Monday morning under change.” Our handoffs are engineered for auditability, reproducibility, and legal readiness — making you both owner and operator.
Expect measurable ROI: fewer redlines, verifiable builds on day one, and a tested continuity path that satisfies Security, Legal, and Procurement.

Book a 90-Day Pilot Strategy Call.

Cited references:

Solidity SPDX and metadata: SPDX header requirement and metadata embedding. (docs.soliditylang.org)
Sourcify/Etherscan verification: exact matches and metadata flows. (docs.sourcify.dev)
SPDX license list and OSI markers; BSL note. (spdx.org)
SSDF, CycloneDX (ECMA‑424), SLSA, Sigstore Cosign. (nist.gov)
GitHub Enterprise controls and audit logs. (docs.github.com)
Circom/Groth16 workflow; KZG ceremony for provenance culture. (docs.circom.io)
CREATE2 determinism; EIP‑155 chain ID in deployment manifests. (eips-wg.github.io)
Escrow release events. (escrowlondon.com)