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Fair Notice Defense

Definition

The fair notice defense is a legal argument asserting that a regulatory body failed to provide adequate warning that certain conduct was prohibited. In the context of digital assets, this defense is frequently raised by companies accused of violating securities laws, claiming they lacked clear guidance on how existing regulations applied to their tokens or operations. It challenges the enforceability of agency actions when rules are ambiguous or retroactively applied. This defense relies on the principle of due process.