If I want to start publishing mobile games that earn money from advertising, do I need to register a company for legal reasons?

In the US, the rules vary from city to city, state to state. In San Diego, I was required to get a business license from the city and register a DBA (Doing Business As) with the county. In PA, where I now live, I can just register with the township. The easiest and least expensive route is the DBA. This also provides zero legal protection of your personal assets. An LLC or corporation will protect your assets, but they are more structured and more expensive. I think the self-filing fee for a corporation in California was $2,000. You need to research the topic and decide which way is right for you. You may want to consult with a lawyer after you have a strong opinion on which way you want to go. In my opinion it's bad practice to ask an attorney to make a business decision for you. Be informed and have a position before you ask for legal advice.

In general you can start as an individual. When you receive a solid income out of this activity registration can be in order. The legal aspect, in my opinion, is less connected to the advertisement than to the game itself. Should a problem occur with the game for with the gamer thinks you are responsible, than there might be something to consider. So I would think of the type of game you'll be releasing and then make a risk assessment. In general I would advise you to talk to a local professional who knows how the law in your specific country works and what is best to do.

Rather for tax reasons, than legal reasons. And it would probably be to your advantage, as you would be able to run expenses in that company, rather than into your private economy. It will, however, change by which country/state you live in. (A2A)

You don't need to register a legal company to do this.  But you should eventually register a corporation so that you limit your legal liability in the event someone sues you.

If you go into business for yourself, either as your sole income or as a side business on top of holding a job, you need a business license. Whether you name this business, create a corporation or LLC, or just do business as a sole proprietor is entirely up to you, as advised by your accountant. Speaking of which, you should talk to an accountant so you know what to expect for taxes on your new business. Good luck

if you are in India then Any Business is Registered as- 1) As a Firm    2) As a LLP    3) As a Company 1) As a Firm :- Firm Registration is also 2 Types   a) Sole Proprietorship Firm- its a very simple process to start any business in India. if you are single owner then just go to nearby Any Bank and say them open your current bank account. in Proprietorship main Objective is "Current Bank Account". every bank needed some documents as per RBI Guidelines i.e need any of the followings :- * VAT Registration- if you dealing in products. example- wanna sell on Flipkart, Snapdeal etc. Compliances say that if your turnover Exceed 5 Lakhs then its manadatory to VAT Registration. its a state tax registration.  so compliance are very on State by State. its cost around 5k to 10k and in some states its need security also like FD. OR *Service Tax Registration - if you are a service provider then you have to register under service tax registration. Compliance say that if your turnoverexceed 9 Lakh in a year then you have to register under service tax registration. its cost around 2k to 4k. OR *Shop Establishment Licenses- if you have a shop or office then you take this licenses. its a very cheap as compare to VAT or Service Tax. OR Certificate from Chartered Accountant regarding nature of business :- in some banks they just need a Certificate from CA regarding the nature of business so its a very simple process to open a current account. Summery of Proprietorship- Just Must Visit nearby Bank and ask the bank policy to open current account. Read More Here- http://bit.ly/1wPN91w b) Partnership Firm :- its a very simple process if you have parnters but its a old tradition form of partnership. just go to nearby any notery and purchase a Stamp Paper of 500 Rupees and drafting your legal terms and conditons of partners. thats sit. but if you want to register it then go to nearby Registrar of Firms with your partnership deed and give to bribe to babu and regsiter it then Apply for PAN & Open Current Account. Cost - Near 3k to 4k. Checkout more here complete procedure- http://bit.ly/1BCqcVr Summery :- Parntership Registration is best if you have partners and your budget is just less than 5k for registration. 2. As a LLP :- LLP is the new concept in India. in simple words its a mixture of Parntership and Company so its has a feature of Parntership and Company. its a best for Startups. its has many advantages as compare to private limited company. the main advantage for startups is capital requirements and compliances at the year ending. in a company many compliances have to filed to MCA but in LLP just 2 statements filed to ROC. Costing- near 9k to 10k Checkout the Process here- http://bit.ly/1EJ9C76 Summery- Its a best for startups which have parnters and wanna register under partnership and take the advantage of Company. 3) Company :- as a Company your startup is registered 2 types. a) Private Limited Company- Old Trend in India. private limited company require min 2 director and 1 lakh share capital and more compliance. Its a best for which startup wanna raise the funds from the investors. and sell out their share in the company. Costing- nearby 14k to 16k and more than 20k in some state like kerela or Punjab. Read More here- http://bit.ly/1CoOe7A Summery- its a best for which wanna raise funds from investores and grow the business on global level. b) One Person Company- same as above. just require min. 1 persona but capital is the same as 1 lakh rupees. Summery- *if your budget is less than 5k- register under proprietorship or Partnership firms then when your business is grow, convert into LLP or Company. *if your budget is more than 5k and but less than 10k - register under LLP then if you wish that you want to choose pvt ltd then go for it for expansion. *if your budget is more than 16k and do wanna serious business then choose company as pvt ltd or opc and hire a good CA's who's take care of legal compliance of your company. You Can use also Online Startup Website like http://myonlineca.in that is also one place for startup legal and financial solutions.

You don't need a company to protect your IP, it can be individuum-tied. You'll need a patent/copyright/trademark, depending on how complex/unique your game is. If you are looking to register a corporation, S-type and LLC will provide protection to your personal assets. Keep in mind though, that both types require quarterly and annual tax filings, salary and unemployment insurance contributions, even if you are the only employee in te company, een if you are not making a profit. It should take you at least around $500-$1000 a year, if you are not making profit. If you are, you will save about 13% on not double paying some of the taxes.

No. You can sign up and publish your app containing ads as a person. If you feel the need to be a company, in the USA the recommendation is to keep it simple, create an LLC in your state. An LLC has pass through taxes and it is less complicated than a C or S Corp. I'm not a lawyer but ... no customer is going to sue you over inexpensive software bought for a phone. If you blatantly violate trademarks or copyright, being a company won't protect you.

Thanks for the A2A.   While opening a company is an option, it is not absolutely necessary. If you are simply going to make a few apps and collect ad revenue, all you would have to do is declare your income when you do your taxes.   In the case of making an app with a greater amount of liability(ie. Working with payments, collecting user data, etc.) it would be a good idea to start a company. I would recommend an LLC(limited  liability corporation) for this purpose, which basically allows you personally to be distinct from your company(you will not be liable for your companies debt).