Protocol Integration

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.

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Approach

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

• alc: prefix — for string fields, a self-identifying format: alc:{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.

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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.

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Design Principle

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