I'm not sure what patents might have been in place at the time Excel came around. In any case, large wealthy companies such as Microsoft are better equipped to

I'm not sure what patents might have been in place at the time Excel came around. In any case, large wealthy companies such as Microsoft are better equipped to deal with the looming threat posed by software patents (or even actual patent-based lawsuits.) Software patents seem particular noxious to smaller software development companies that are more vulnerable to being shut down by a shakedown.