I don't think you're violating copyright law by imitating the "look and feel" of a competing software program (please look up the term [look and feel]). But if the company whose program you are imitating is sufficiently large, they may have attempted to patent the program's functionality. The Supreme Court is going to decide whether software patents are valid, and if you were to be sued for patent infringement you could countersue to declare their patent illegal.

The simple answer is, if they want it, they will claim you violated their copyright, true or not. Also, just because you get a patent or copyright that allows you to prevent others from using it, does not mean you can use it yourself without problems.

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

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415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi

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San Francisco CA 94102

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