Spreadsheet Applications & Copyright Issues

[TheRobsterUK]

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

 

[joeu2004]

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.

 

[Guest]

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).

 

[Harlan Grove]

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.

 

[TheRobsterUK]

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++.