If I write a program that is similar to the Rosetta Stone language software, am

[MrSandman]

I violating any copyright laws? Rosetta Stone charges $400 for their language software and yet the program is actually based on a very simple design. I don't know if you have used Rosetta Stone before but their approach to learning languages involves getting the student to match the picture with the word. They have also includes speech recognition as well. The concept is actually very clever, with a proven track record of success as millions of people have been benefiting from Rosetta Stone but the software design is extremely simple, even a first or second year university student with programming experience could design something similar... and I wouldn't mind having a stab at producing my own version, partly out of the enjoyment of programming and I need a project for my degree course but also because I might be able to capitalise on this venture and release a low budget version of the Rosetta Stone software. But I'm concerned that should Rosetta Stone get wind of my project they might be able to sue me for violating copyright laws.