Technology law and data protection, across India
KV TechLegal works on technology law and data protection. We act for startups building software products, for in-house teams at companies that hold significant amounts of personal data, and for businesses that build or use artificial intelligence. Some of that work crosses borders, for Indian companies selling to customers abroad and for foreign companies bringing products into India. The practice was founded by K. Vaitheeswaran, who has practised tax and business law for over three decades.
K. Vaitheeswaran, Founder
Technology, data and corporate law
K. Vaitheeswaran is the founder of the practice and has practised law across India for over three decades. His work spans corporate law, taxation, commercial matters and, increasingly, the legal issues raised by technology and the digital economy. He has advised Indian and international companies, industry associations and chambers of commerce on regulatory matters.
He leads the firm's DPDP practice. Having advised companies for decades on their commercial structures and regulatory obligations, he knows where personal data sits in businesses across sectors, and helps them work out how the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 applies to the way they collect, use and share it.
In 2022 he published Digital Economy, a book on the law, taxation and future of the digital world. He writes and speaks on law and technology, including the taxation and regulation of digital businesses, data and artificial intelligence, and leads seminars and professional sessions across India on taxation, the DPDP Act and how the law is responding to new technologies.
He is a member of the Governing Council of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, heads its GST Committee and sits on its Information Technology and Legal Committee. He also teaches at professional institutes and industry forums.
Nikitha Vaitheeswaran, Partner
Data protection, contracts and IP
Nikitha has over six years of experience in commercial, tax and data protection matters. As part of the firm's data protection practice, she advises businesses on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its Rules, and on implementing them.
Her data protection work covers data inventories, privacy notices, consent frameworks, processor terms and data processing arrangements. She helps businesses turn regulatory obligations into workable policies, contractual protections and operational processes.
She reviews and negotiates agreements for multinational corporations and businesses across several industries, including master services agreements, order forms, vendor contracts and licensing arrangements, and identifies the legal and commercial risks they carry for the wider business.
Nikitha also advises on intellectual property and licensing in technology, media and music, including rights, permitted uses, restrictions and the allocation of responsibility between the parties.
Her background in tax and regulatory work means she reviews agreements with their commercial, operational and regulatory consequences in mind, as well as their legal terms.
Hirendhar Lakshmanan, Partner
Data protection and SaaS
Hirendhar is a partner in the firm's data protection practice, with over five years of experience in technology, commercial, data protection and digital brand protection matters. He advises technology-driven businesses on the legal and regulatory issues arising from their products, platforms and digital infrastructure.
His work covers commercial agreements, SaaS and API arrangements, technology transactions, data processing frameworks and privacy compliance, including how risk is allocated between customers, vendors, platforms and technology providers.
He began his career at Safenames, working with international clients on digital brand protection and domain portfolios. This gave him early exposure to the technical infrastructure behind domains, websites and digital identities, and to the ways technology can be used for infringement and online abuse. At Peritum Partners, his work expanded into technology and business advisory, including commercial contracts, SaaS, APIs, data protection and regulatory matters.
In the UK he worked on GDPR compliance and prepared Data Protection Risk Assessment reports, assessing data flows, processing activities, technical and organisational measures, third-party relationships, international transfers and regulatory risk.
He also works on the legal issues raised by AI platforms, where legislation and case law are still developing. This includes questions of consent, data use, privacy, liability, transparency, training data and the allocation of responsibility between developers, deployers, users and technology providers.
Alongside his legal practice, he builds and experiments with web data infrastructure, which gives him hands-on experience of APIs, web architecture, data collection and automation. This allows him to work directly with technical teams and to read the law against how their systems work.
How the practice works
How we work with the teams we advise.
Written, checkable advice
We write advice a team can act on and check: which field to stop collecting, which clause to change, which vendor arrangement needs terms before release.
The business, the technology and the data
We start with how the business runs, how its technology is built and how data moves through it, from collection to deletion. Legal requirements are read against that picture, so what we recommend fits the systems in place.
Working with in-house teams
We work within your templates, playbook and approval process, and take on the matters where your team wants a second reviewer or more hands, from a single contract to a DPDP programme.
Working with startups
We separate what must be in place before a launch or a funding round from what can wait, and draft documents the company can keep using as it grows.