Consultations on registering a company to work in the App Store and Google Play

Legal Planning for Selection of a Jurisdiction for Registering a Mobile Software Development Company

The development and publication of mobile software is one of the most promising spheres of activity for IT companies in the modern world. In the context of global digitalization of the world around us, it is difficult for a person to imagine his life without the daily use of various apps and utilities for mobile devices, which not only significantly facilitate our daily life, but also play a vital role in organization of business activities, financial transactions and managing employees in different parts of the world.

Therefore, the work on developing and launching new applications plays such an important role, and the startups operating in this area have fairly high chances for further growth.

The importance of choosing the right jurisdiction

However, it is necessary to understand that organizing a company for the development and launch of mobile apps is a quite a complex process that requires not only a basic idea and a technical team for its implementation, but also a deeply developed structure of a legal entity that will act as the owner of the software or provide services for its development. An incorrect and ill-considered choice of a country for organizing a company can lead to serious consequences, among others:

excessive tax burden both in relation to corporate tax and in relation to withholding tax on the payment and receipt of royalties and dividends;
difficulties in opening a bank account;
the complexity and excessive costs of registering intellectual property rights - patents, trademarks, depositing copyrights, and their subsequent distribution to new countries;
possible legal liability if the application offers services that are subject to licensing requirements in a particular jurisdiction.

What factors should be taken into account when choosing a jurisdiction

When choosing a country for your future project, there is a fairly comprehensive list of factors that must be taken into account to minimize risks, for example:

citizenship and residency of the director and beneficial owners, since in addition to the requirements of some countries for the presence of a local director in the company structure, a BO or director from a disputed jurisdiction can significantly complicate the process of opening a bank account or obtaining the necessary license;
the possibility of opening a bank or EMI account in a format convenient for conducting comfortable business activities, since it may be difficult for companies from certain jurisdictions to open an operational account with adequate rates.
financial expenses for organizing a legal entity, as well as the cost of annual maintenance;
company registration period;
applicable tax rates for corporate tax and withholding tax;
the need to register intellectual property objects, associated costs and the possibility of further receipt of payments under the license;
The need for official employment of employees.

Considering the fact that studying and considering each of the aspects mentioned above may require a significant amount of time and detailed immersion in each individual issue, we recommend that you seek the assistance of lawyers of Law&Trust International, as our experience and knowledge of the processes will help to optimize the work on choosing a country and company format for your project.

Required documents for opening a company

Usually, it will be necessary to provide the following documents for the process or company registration:

passport, proof of residency and residential address for the director and shareholders of the company;
confirmation of the source of income for all shareholders of the company;
bank statement from the shareholder's account;
company name options;
Depending on the specific jurisdiction, other documents may be requested, including confirmation of the shareholder's education and work experience, a certificate of no criminal record, and others.

Stages of organizing a legal entity for application development

Coordination of format and jurisdiction for opening a legal entity, preliminary tax planning and provision of necessary advisory assistance for decision-making.
Direct work on company registration.
Obtaining a tax number.
Opening a bank or EMI account to ensure the company's operational capability.
Submitting a request for registration of intellectual property rights.
Submitting a request to obtain a DUNS number for a company.
Obtaining Apple developer status to publish games in the AppStore or registration on the Play Market.
Launch of the project.

Conclusion

Often, at the beginning of a project for mobile software development, the main difficulty is not the company registration itself, which can be completed in 1 to 4 weeks, but further procedures for its complete launch. In order to minimize risks and ensure an optimal work format, we strongly recommend conducting a full range of preliminary studies of all possible aspects that may affect the further operability of the company. Lawyers of Law&Trust International are ready to provide you with all the necessary assistance at any stage of organizing your activities - from preliminary legal planning and company registration to registering intellectual property rights, opening a bank account and entering the main marketplaces .