Unique Passwords Protection

Working on a spreadsheet that I would like to market via the internet.
What are the best methods to protect the thousands of hours that hav
been invested?

Simple password protection does not seem to be very plausible as the
would all have the same password.

While I am at it are Excel documents patentable or copyrightable?

Thanks, Michae

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MJSlatter
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Hi
IMHO you can't really protect Excel sheets. Only if you have some COM
Addins you can protect them but all VBA Code and/or worksheet functions
cannot really be protected

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Regards
Frank Kabel
Frankfurt, Germany

"MJSlattery" <MJSlattery.1flatz@excelforum-nospam.com> schrieb im
Newsbeitrag news:MJSlattery.1flatz@excelforum-nospam.com...
>
> Working on a spreadsheet that I would like to market via the
internet.
> What are the best methods to protect the thousands of hours that have
> been invested?
>
> Simple password protection does not seem to be very plausible as they
> would all have the same password.
>
> While I am at it are Excel documents patentable or copyrightable?
>
> Thanks, Michael
>
>
> --
> MJSlattery
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> MJSlattery's Profile:
http://www.excelforum.com/member.php...o&userid=16141
> View this thread:
http://www.excelforum.com/showthread...hreadid=277617
>

You'll have to turn your workbooks into COM add-ins to make them
reasonably safe. Anything less (including File, Workbook and Worksheet
protection) is easily bypassed.

I have a client that has built a dozen forms of protection into his
product, several quite ingenious. While they are bulletproof against a
novice, it takes about 30 seconds to disable them if you know what
you're doing.

Excel documents aren't patentable, but like any other form of written
communication, they are copyrighted as soon as you set them down in
fixed form. Not the formulae themselves, but how you use them in your
app, along with your creative work in the text in your sheets, and the
particular instantiation of any VBA code. You can register your
copyright - it's required before suing anyone for punitive damages - but
you don't have to.

In article <MJSlattery.1flatz@excelforum-nospam.com>,
MJSlattery <MJSlattery.1flatz@excelforum-nospam.com> wrote:

> Working on a spreadsheet that I would like to market via the internet.
> What are the best methods to protect the thousands of hours that have
> been invested?
>
> Simple password protection does not seem to be very plausible as they
> would all have the same password.
>
> While I am at it are Excel documents patentable or copyrightable?