Maxim Ali told Forbes whether the future of Bookmate, Individuum and Popcorn Books in Russia will be affected by their affiliation with foreign-agent media
At the end of October, the Ministry of Justice declared the owner of the Bookmate book service, Irish Bookmate Limited, the former CEO of its Russian division Andrei Baev, and Alexei Dokuchaev, the CEO of Individuum and Popcorn Books, whose majority shares were also owned by the parent foreign brand, to be foreign-agent media.
According to book market participants, the reason for the listing was the release by Popcorn Books of the high-profile LGBT novel Summer in a Pioneer Tie. Curiously, however, even before receiving the status of a foreign-agent media, Bookmate Limited had begun its withdrawal from Russia. In the summer of 2022, the company sold its publishing interests to Denis Kotov, co-owner of the combined Chitay-Gorod – Bukvoed book chain, and sold the licence for Bookmate’s technology platform to Yandex. It is expected that a new book application based on the platform will be developed and will be offered to all Bookmate users in December 2022.
Maxim Ali, Partner and Head of IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, explained to Forbes that Bookmate Limited will retain the ability to do business in Russia through a local legal entity. However, it will be obliged to report to the Ministry of Justice about its activities, employees and cash flows, and distribute all materials, notifying its status as a foreign agent. In addition, the expert stressed that Bookmate Limited’s recognition as a foreign agent will not prevent Yandex from launching a similar service under the Bookmate brand or under its own brand in the CIS.
Maxim estimated that Individuum and Popcorn Books, whose CEO remains Alexei Dokuchaev, are more likely to be recognized as foreign agents. “According to the new law on foreign agents, which will come into force in December 2022, a publishing house whose CEO is recognised as a foreign agent may be considered to be under ‘foreign influence’ and for this reason also get on the register,” Maxim Ali concluded.
To read the full article (in Russian) please visit Forbes website >>>