i am trying to copyright a small program which uses an excel workbook. the program code and data tables are located on a single sheet, while there are 3 other sheets for data entry and another sheet for data summarization. also, there are 3 additional custom forms related to use with the program as well (for data collection manually) can someone point me as to how to copyright the code inside the excel workbook and the forms? not sure what section this falls under on the copyright website. thanks.
question about copyrighting
- Thread starter takeru
- Start date
Copyright for computer programs is pretty useless because "Copyright protection is not available for ideas, program logic, algorithms, systems, methods, concepts, or layouts." If you are doing something new and nonobvious in one of those areas, you need a patent.
there are several sites with copyrighted excel spreadsheets and templates. pretty much i want to do something like that.
that as well. i created the program for use in my previous workplace to streamline a manual process that was a bit dated. as it turned out, it was very useful for them, and they have used it happily with my consent for the past 3 years i worked there, until i was terminated. ultimately it was a messy ending, with me telling them to seize and desist use of the program immediately. knowing them though, they will pay no mind to my words and continue its use anyway. so, i would like to copyright my work, just in case they decide to continue use of it.
keep in mind i developed it on my personal time at home, and it was never asked of me even to be done in that manner even. so all the work, including the procedural use, were all created by me.
thanks for the link, literary copyright looks like the way, but gets a bit vague since it only mentions about source code.
Since you created the program while you were working for a company and you allowed use of said program by that company, you may have lost all claims to said program.
I'd really suggest you delve deeply into your old company's policies....more than one company has an itty bitty section in its policy manual that states any invention, discovery, created work, etc., which your program would fall under, belongs to the company, no matter how it was invented, created, found, designed....esp. if its use was then given to the company. And, of course, you agreed to it, if it exists in your policies manual, by signing when you hired on that you received and read your employee's handbook or policy manual or whatever.
I know IBM is one company that does this....many universities have this sort of stipulation in place, and lots of others, too.
You may have already given away all rights to your program.
I'd really suggest you delve deeply into your old company's policies....more than one company has an itty bitty section in its policy manual that states any invention, discovery, created work, etc., which your program would fall under, belongs to the company, no matter how it was invented, created, found, designed....esp. if its use was then given to the company. And, of course, you agreed to it, if it exists in your policies manual, by signing when you hired on that you received and read your employee's handbook or policy manual or whatever.
I know IBM is one company that does this....many universities have this sort of stipulation in place, and lots of others, too.
You may have already given away all rights to your program.
Ah, that changes it significantly actually. Work created while working for a company is generally deemed to be the property of the company, not you, unless you were working as an independent contractor, and then it merely gets...complicated! I'm just guessing here, since I'm far from an expert, but even if you created it on your own time but it was expressly intended for your work at the company, you're probably still bound by company ownership. You showed initiative, not indepedence. You might need the help of an honest-to-goodness intellectual property attorney in this matter, which begs the question of whether or not it is worth the effort. If it's merely a pride issue and not a monetary one (if the program is specific to the company's operations and has no monetary value outside the company), then it might not be worth pursuing with a lawyer.
Want to hear one of the greatest examples of this? The guy who invented Post It notes was a scientist with 3M, and he never directly benefited from the sales (meaning, the amount of sales of Post It notes didn't directly correlate into a percentage of income for him). He certainly benefited (I think he became a department head, among other bonuses), but 3M owned the discovery and all monetary benefits from it. Apparently he was fine with that arrangement, but I think about it every time I buy Post It notes since they are so outrageously priced these days.
it already is a bit complicated. first off, the company i was part of is a service handling company, meaning i was part of a contract company. second, the program i created was for the client at the time, since they were my friends. the service handling company handles all of the clients bulk work. the program was given for use to the handling company to use in their operations. since i was terminated by the handling company, i told the clients to not permit use of the program by the handling company anymore, which they agreed with me. now, the handling company i know may not care, and would just go ahead and continue use of my program.
i would look at the policy of my old company, but they never show it to anyone apparently. especially those not in management. and considering they terminated me now, its utterly impossible to see it by any means anymore.
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