Copyrights

[Dick7Access]

I have a db that I am thinking of giving away, but I don't want anybody to copy it and sell it. Does anybody know if it is difficult and or expensive to get an app copyrighted?

 

[MarkK]

Copyright is just a thing you assert. If you made something it is yours. Put a little copyright splash screen when your app opens.

This doesn't mean people won't steal it.

I've expressed other thoughts I have about security on your Access database in post #7 of this thread.

 

[MarkK]

Oh, and the copyright symbol is Chr(169), so you can do . . .

me.lblCopyright.Caption = "Copyright " & chr(169) & " 2009-2013"

. . . or something like that.

 

[John Big Booty]

You could also consider distributing it under a Creative Commons license, which has more flexibility on the rights you retain and those that you give your end user.

 

[Galaxiom]

Like patents, copyright is only as good as how much you are willing to throw into fighting the case.

A wealthy breacher can send you broke trying to enforce your rights. Microsoft has used this strategy many times.

 

[gemma-the-husky]

the hard bit is constructing your dbs in a way that makes it "impossible" to use without adopting the prescribed method you provide for its use/licensing.

and then it depends how much work a "hacker" is prepared to spend in reverse engineering (or otherwise circumventing security) for your application, given that nothing is completely uncrackable.

 

[syswizard]

Unlike Excel, whose encryption is easily broken, I have not found any resources that can uncover the source code from an MDE or ACCDE file.
So if you force the users to accept a strong password as well as an often changed password, it will be difficult to steal your work.

re: copyright...you must file this with the patent office. Until it is accepted (which could take up to one year !), you can only say: Copyright(c) Pending.

 

[billmeye]

Copyright is cheap if you do it yourself, $35:

https://eco.copyright.gov/eService_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eco.copyright.gov

 

[Solo712]

Copyright is cheap if you do it yourself, $35:

https://eco.copyright.gov/eService_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=Start&SWEHo=eco.copyright.gov

No need to register a copyrighted work in Canada, BTW:

http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/ccl/aboutCopyright.html


Best,
Jiri

 

[Solo712]

the hard bit is constructing your dbs in a way that makes it "impossible" to use without adopting the prescribed method you provide for its use/licensing.

and then it depends how much work a "hacker" is prepared to spend in reverse engineering (or otherwise circumventing security) for your application, given that nothing is completely uncrackable.

This is undeniably true, but there are ways to make things difficult for the hacker. And the smart thing is not to publicize what they are. I got burned early in my career in not getting paid for a large software project and since I have adopted methods which have served me well. One of the defense mechanisms is a simple date expiry, which is not removed until the bill has been paid in full. Works well.

True story: In the late eighties, a financial house in Montreal ordered a financial analysis package from me which I delivered alas for which they omitted to pay me the "other half" of my fee. They did not omit selling the product to ~ two dozen of their clients. In six months, the package blew up with the firm's Copyright text disappearing and a message expressing regret for the inconvenience but there was money owed on the contract for the product and the software will now shut down.

By a coincidence, a friend of mine was one of the people contacted to remove the intercepting code. He couldn't and contacted me (not knowing I wrote the program) with an offer of nearly double of what the miscreants owed me if I would crack it. I said 'sure' and presented him with a 'cracked' version a day later. He paid me. Of course all I did was pushed the date of expiry ahead by six months. In due time, I received a call from one of the principals (he traced me to Ottawa where I moved), protesting their innocence and would I give them the source code as we agreed, if they were to pay me what I claimed they owed. We had an satisfaction agreement drafted by a lawyer, and I gave them the source code for their product. Obviously, it came without the intercept code (written in 8086 assembler). My copyright!

Best,
Jiri

 

[NigelShaw]

Unlike Excel, whose encryption is easily broken, I have not found any resources that can uncover the source code from an MDE or ACCDE file.
So if you force the users to accept a strong password as well as an often changed password, it will be difficult to steal your work.

re: copyright...you must file this with the patent office. Until it is accepted (which could take up to one year !), you can only say: Copyright(c) Pending.

FYI

there is way of reading a db password in hex. im not going to post it on here but there is a way

N

 

[Steve R.]

The whole issue of so-called "intellectual property" has become a corrupted morass, which no longer reflects the original intent of patent law or the copyright privilege. Virtually everything we do is built on the works of others and it becomes difficult to actually claim originality. While not computer related read Orson Scot Card's letter humorously making the case that when J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter she "stole" the plot from Card's story Ender's Game. (Which is finally being released as a movie). At a minimum, John has appropriate advice.

You could also consider distributing it under a Creative Commons license, which has more flexibility on the rights you retain and those that you give your end user.

Lagbolt made an excellent observation with the suggestion to use a splash screen; though I would contend that even-though you made it, you would not necessarily be entitled to copyright protection.

Copyright is just a thing you assert. If you made something it is yours. Put a little copyright splash screen when your app opens. .... This doesn't mean people won't steal it.