copyright for stand-alone application

[aquaman]

Hello everyone,

I work as a developer for my company and I was given the job to develop a database system into a stand alone application using FileMaker Pro Advanced. Everything is going well and according to plan and we are close to the point of marketing our software. Our problem is we, of course, wish to copyright our software like any other application I would design and release as a software engineer. Our attorney is demanding some sort of true code for the copyright process, however since FileMaker does not actually have a code behind it like C++ or other traditional programming languages I would use to develop with I have no idea what to provide for copyright licensing.

Any help or pointing in the right direction is greatly appreciated...

[jamesducker]

In your FileMaker 10 Advanced application folder you should find a file called

"FMPA License (English).pdf"

Have a look in there, particularly at paragraph 1 ( which deals with runtimes...

Hope that helps. Come back if you'd like to discuss further.

James

[Steven H. Blackwell]

You can copyright your files. You cannot copyright the FileMaker portion, either runtime engine or plication. FileMaker, Inc. owns those copyrights and so states in their EULA.

Steven

[RodSierra]

SME's that pay to get all this done IMHO, are pretty much wasting their time. Here's my take on why:

If you have something that is really, really original, and say one of the big 5 software or hardware giants with a vast supply of on board lawyers decides they want your idea, they will simply take it, and leave it up to you to defend. They have the bucks, you most likely don't and will drag this out for years and drain you if you decide to continue to fight. In most cases this never happens and your simply being talked into protecting something that will never need protecting in the first place by lawyers that only want to increase their fees by convincing you to register all this in hopes you will find someone who is violating your claim and they can charge you more to go after them. Then the counter claims start, and your in an endless lawyer loop. I've been their with patents over the years and can tell you absolutely save your money and help kill the endless loop your all in with lawyers and law suits. Sorry for the editorial, but its really a waste of money for the SME.

[aquaman]

@RodSierra

Although I appreciate your views and agree with you for the most part this is an application used in Genetic research and will be marketed internationally. Our concern is the unwanted duplication of our software, etc. In this case I am strongly about the company I work for getting a copyright on this work. This is not a $20 software solution for the common user...

[FMWorx]

You would copyight the layout design, and for that matter, you could even copyright the scripts used in your processes. But you cannot cannot copyright any of the Filemaker copywriiten material. You could also trademark the name of the software. I have personally been able to copyright the layouts and scripts, being careful not to step on Filemaker's toes, and I give credit in my copyrights to the Filemaker portions of the "application" to Filemaker. As for the duplication of your software, in copyright court that doesn't really matter. They want to know who came up with the idea first, and who put it to use first. All someone has to do is make a 10% change in code, or design, and that makes it "original". Do you own the company for which the application is built for? You may want to look into your company's contract or employment rules about "original works" created by an employee. If they are paying you on company time to develop this application, you may not even be able to claim copyrights; it may be theirs to claim. I battled in court for 3 and a half years over a "Hotel Reservation system" that I designed on my own time, while I worked for one of the largest hotel chains in America, back in the mid 90's, and I decided to sell it to them for what I t hought would be a great chunk of change, but they ended up suing me for the rights to the program stating that I created it on "company" time just for them. I just couldn't financially keep up with them in court, so they won the case, and I had to turn the source code over to them. They are still using the program today, after making a 10% change in the code to make it even more "original". Another thing, don't copyright an original work in your Personal name. YOU CAN BE SUED PERSONALLY FOR ANY ISSUES THAT ARISE FROM OF THE USE OF YOUR PRODUCT! You need to copyright it under a business name, so ONLY the business can be sued.

In a nutshell, you can provide "any and all material, script steps, layout designs, and custom functions not already protected by Filemaker or someone else's copyrights".

[The Big Bear]

I have a copyright runtime in FM. You send in the scripts you have written.

Hope this helps

Lionel

[Fitch]

Print your scripts and fields definitions to PDF, that might do it.

[Vaughan]

Print your scripts and fields definitions to PDF, that might do it.

If that's done, and the scripts and field definitions are then changed (which they would do frequently) would the copyright then not apply?

IOW would this process need to be re-done for each version of the software released?