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Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

  1. #1
    Forum Contributor
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    Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

    If I create a spreadsheet application then by law do I automatically own the copyright for that spreadsheet without having to, for example, register it or patent it first?

    I have a spreadsheet that I want to try and sell but want to know what I could do if someone hacked the passwords on it and simply changed my name (e.g. in the splash screen) to their name and then started selling it as their own application.

    Legally can I do anything about this? Are they breaking copyright law?

    Also if they just took all my ideas (without hacking the passwords) and basically just made a replica of my application and then sold their version, is this also an infringement of copyright and therefore also illegal?

    Thanks
    -Rob

  2. #2

    Re: Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

    TheRobsterUK wrote:
    > If I create a spreadsheet application then by law do
    > I automatically own the copyright for that spreadsheet
    > without having to, for example, register it or patent
    > it first?


    First, this is primarily a legal question, not an Excel
    question. It might be prudent for you to post to legal
    forum, not an Excel forum.

    Second, the answer will depend on the country of origin.
    Since your user name has "UK", I wonder if you are asking
    in the context of UK law, not US law. You should be more
    specific when you repost in the appropriate forum.

    For US law, a general-use copyright is now assumed for
    nearly everything that is written. However, you need
    to register the copyright if you want the ability to sue
    for certain kinds of remedies. I think you also need to
    register the copyright if you want international
    recognition of the copyright.

    (But that is only within countries that might recognize
    the copyright in the first place. Some countries do not.)

    > I have a spreadsheet that I want to try and sell but
    > want to know what I could do if someone hacked the
    > passwords on it and simply changed my name (e.g. in the
    > splash screen) to their name and then started selling
    > it as their own application.
    > [....] Are they breaking copyright law?


    Generally yes, in the US.

    > Also if they just took all my ideas [...] and basically
    > just made a replica of my application and then sold their
    > version, is this also an infringement of copyright and
    > therefore also illegal?


    Only if you can show that replication has enough commonality
    with your spreadsheet that it is obvious derived from yours.

    Generally in the US, copyrights protect content and form,
    not ideas. If you write a murder mystery based on one plot
    and I write another murder mystery using the same basic plot,
    there might be no copyright infringement, even if you can
    show that I got the plot idea from your book. You would have
    to demonstrate enough commonality in the storyline that it
    was obvious that my text was derived from your text.

    For technology products like spreadsheets, you can patent
    "ideas" in the US to the extent that you can demonstrate
    their workability. For example, if you develop a novel
    method of data analysis using a spreadsheet, you can patent
    the methodology. If I market a product using the same
    methodology in a completely novel spreadsheet (not derived
    from yours) or even a different form altogether (e.g, a
    computer program), you might prevail in a patent dispute.

    But bear in mind that simply registering a copyright or
    patent does not ensure that you will prevail in a dispute.


  3. #3
    JR
    Guest

    RE: Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

    I'm not sure what rights you have to protect the application you created but,
    I'm not sure it's legal for you to sell "your" application in the first
    place, since you are using a copyrighted program (Microsoft Excel).

    "TheRobsterUK" wrote:

    >
    > If I create a spreadsheet application then by law do I automatically own
    > the copyright for that spreadsheet without having to, for example,
    > register it or patent it first?
    >
    > I have a spreadsheet that I want to try and sell but want to know what
    > I could do if someone hacked the passwords on it and simply changed my
    > name (e.g. in the splash screen) to their name and then started selling
    > it as their own application.
    >
    > Legally can I do anything about this? Are they breaking copyright law?
    >
    > Also if they just took all my ideas (without hacking the passwords) and
    > basically just made a replica of my application and then sold their
    > version, is this also an infringement of copyright and therefore also
    > illegal?
    >
    > Thanks
    > -Rob
    >
    >
    > --
    > TheRobsterUK
    >
    >
    > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    > TheRobsterUK's Profile: http://www.excelforum.com/member.php...fo&userid=9924
    > View this thread: http://www.excelforum.com/showthread...hreadid=473430
    >
    >


  4. #4
    Harlan Grove
    Guest

    Re: Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

    JR wrote...
    >I'm not sure what rights you have to protect the application you created but,
    >I'm not sure it's legal for you to sell "your" application in the first
    >place, since you are using a copyrighted program (Microsoft Excel).

    ....

    By that 'logic', Microsoft would own the copyrights to all books,
    papers, articles, etc. composed or edited with Word.

    An .XLS file (or a .XML file) is separate and distinct from the system
    in which it was created and in which it would presumably need to run.

    That said, I wouldn't buy any .XLS or .XLA file. Inability to create
    true standalone applications implies a certain lack of professionalism.
    Also, there's absolutely no sure way to protect IP distributed in the
    form of .XLS, .XLA or .XML files.


  5. #5
    Forum Contributor
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harlan Grove
    JR wrote...That said, I wouldn't buy any .XLS or .XLA file. Inability to create true standalone applications implies a certain lack of professionalism.
    Well that's because I'm an engineer and a scientist, not a programmer! I know how to use Excel fairly well but not things like VB or C++.

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