This bug has been reported on Ubuntu Launchpad as:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/434990

Copying and pasting of formulas in Gnumeric does not work properly. If a cell with formula is copied, and an attempt is made to paste it down a column, the formula is not copied, only the _value_ of the formula from the original cell. This behavior is seen with C-c, C-p, and with mouse-menu copy/paste. If the cell's lower-right corner 'marker' is pulled with the mouse, the formula WILL copy correctly down the column.

If an area of data, including formulas, is copied, from INSIDE Gnumeric, and an attempt is made to copy it elsewhere in the same spreadsheet, the data may not copy, OR the Text Import Configuration dialog appears, asking for choices about tab-delimited, columns, formatting as number or text, and so on, before data will paste, and the formulas will NOT copy, only the values of those formulas at the original locations. Cell formatting does not appear to be preserved in the copy, even inside the same spreadsheet. Data highlighted and copied from, for example, an outside text file does not always paste into Gnumeric correctly.

The data, and formulas, along with their formatting, should just copy to the new location, as is, and without extra dialog boxes, with formula references changing to the new relative positions, as spreadsheets have done for decades.

gnumeric:
  Installed: 1.9.9-1ubuntu2
  Candidate: 1.9.9-1ubuntu2
  Version table:
 *** 1.9.9-1ubuntu2 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com karmic/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

gnome:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1:2.22.2~4ubuntu7
  Version table:
     1:2.22.2~4ubuntu7 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com karmic/universe Packages