Counsel, Solicitor (England & Wales)
Counsel, Solicitor (England & Wales)
VIkTOR RYKOV
VIkTOR RYKOV
Focuses on IT & Crypto projects, handles International Dispute Resolution cases and litigations in English courts
Specializes in corporate structuring, compliance, and regulation of digital platforms, AI, and crypto assets.
Areas of expertise
Areas of expertise
FINTECH AND CRYPTO
FINTECH AND CRYPTO
FINTECH AND CRYPTO
Data privacy
Data privacy
Data privacy
media law
media law
media law
sanctions
sanctions
sanctions
LITIGATION
LITIGATION
LITIGATION
arbitration
arbitration
arbitration
international disputes
international disputes
international disputes
education
education
Queen Mary University of London (UK), Postgraduate Diploma in International Arbitration, 1st class honours
University of Hannover (Germany), IP/IT courses, exchange program
University of Lapland (Finland), LLM in International Law
Russian Law Academy of the Ministry of Justice, Bachelor’s degree
University of Bologna (Italy), LL.M. Law, Economics and Governance
University of Antwerp (Belgium), International and European Legal Studies
Russian School of Private Law (Moscow), Master of Private Law
Higher School of Economics (Moscow), Bachelor of Laws
ABOUT
ABOUT
Viktor developed his expertise working in an IT company in the telecom sector, negotiating multi-million IT implementation contracts with leading telecom companies in CIS, the Middle East, South-East Asia and Africa.
He subsequently moved to work as an advocate focusing on shareholder disputes, legal advice for crypto businesses and sanctions.
Viktor has worked on international projects since 2018. He is a qualified solicitor admitted to practise in England & Wales. He is focused on the projects involving English law and international law issues. He regularly acts in international arbitrations.
Viktor has a rare combination of skills: in-house experience in the IT industry, providing him with an understanding of IT businesses’ working needs and practices, and expertise as a dispute resolution lawyer, allowing him to advise on potential conflicts and early stages and assist with structuring legal instruments to minimise clients’ legal risks.
At Bytes & Rights, Viktor assists businesses where knowledge of English law is required. Viktor advises IT and crypto clients on regulatory compliance risks and assists well-established companies with protecting their IT, managing reputation and resolving international disputes.
Lev has extensive experience in technology law, intellectual property, and regulatory compliance. He has supported complex technological projects, provided intellectual property consulting, and handled national and international litigation in civil, corporate, contractual, and IP disputes. His expertise also includes regulatory frameworks for digital platforms and artificial intelligence, as well as advising fintech companies on corporate structuring, compliance, and licensing.
In addition to his legal practice, Lev gained academic research experience at the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at the S.S. Alexeev Research Centre for Private Law, focusing on copyright in musical works and comparative trademark regulation.
Before joining Bytes&Rights, he worked as a legal consultant at international Big Four firms, Ernst&Young and Deloitte, as well as at leading law firms.
EXPIRIENCE
EXPIRIENCE
Viktor’s key projects include:
- Crypto. Development of legal solutions for tokenising real estate and structuring commercial contracts and underlying white papers for blockchain projects to align with regulatory requirements.
- Copyright, data protection. Development regulatory policies across cybersecurity, data protection, open-source licensing and copyright domains to protect the interests of a software supplier. Leading negotiations with major telecom companies across the Middle East, CIS, Africa and South-East Asia.
- IT contracts. Dispute resolution. Representation of an IT distributor in arbitration (ICC and LCIA) and litigation in the UK, EU and US against top hardware and software vendors, recovering damages from the vendors following breaches of IT distribution contracts.
- Media law. Defamation. Reputation management. Advising an international group of companies on litigation strategy against an online defamatory publication involving the US, the Netherlands, Lithuania and England. Elaborating tactics for safeguarding the client’s global reputation. The project includes dealing with erasure requests to the search engines and operators of AI tools (such as OpenAI) to remove unlawfully processed personal data.
- Shareholder disputes. Advising the client on share sale negotiations to exit the venture project relating to the robotics industry with a heavy patent portfolio developed over the years.
- Sanctions compliance and clearance. Banking and finance. Representing a UHNWI single-family office in multiple disputes against hedge funds and banks in the Cayman Islands, England and Ireland. Dealing with regulatory and compliance issues under UK and EU sanctions. Pre-action correspondence with hedge funds and banks. Achieving the release of tens of millions of USD unjustly retained by several hedge funds and banks.
- Disputes in venture projects. JAMS arbitration (New York and Delaware law) to protect the interests of a sophisticated venture investor following venture investment in a MedTech project. The dispute arose after the project reached IPO.
Lev's recent career highlights include:
- Assisting in structuring an option agreement for the acquisition of a stake in a technology startup in exchange for professional advisory services (based on the FAST model).
- Developing a compliance framework for an online platform under the laws of CIS countries, the European Union, and the USA; designing an ADR procedure to handle complaints related to harmful content and IP infringements under the EU Digital Services Act.
- Advising an online platform on legal requirements under European, U.S., Singaporean, and CIS laws regarding the protection of children from harmful content; designing an age verification procedure.
- Preparing a legal opinion on export control laws and other restrictions affecting international transactions involving the transfer of rights to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
- Contributing to a strategy to protect a music copyright holder's rights in cases involving unauthorized placement of derivative works (remixes) on streaming platforms.
- Supporting the intra-group restructuring of an international telecommunications company by preparing draft SPAs, STAs, corporate agreements, and options; interaction with clients and foreign consultants.
- Representing a label designer in a trademark infringement case, where the court ordered the cessation of trademark use and awarded compensation for the infringement of exclusive rights.
- Contributing to the preparation of a legal opinion on initiating investment arbitration against the Russian Federation under international treaties with Iran and the UK.
- Conducting legal due diligence for a large automobile dealer and a major insurance company; independently preparing reports covering intellectual property, litigation, enforcement proceedings, and financial obligations.
Get in Touch
CONTACT US
Bytes&Rights (Y-tunnus 3402918-6)
Lappeenranta, Finland
Get in Touch
CONTACT US
Bytes&Rights (Y-tunnus 3402918-6)
Lappeenranta, Finland
Get in Touch
CONTACT US
Bytes&Rights (Y-tunnus 3402918-6)
Lappeenranta, Finland