don’t play poker with central american authors

the deal: a very long time ago i wrote a few children’s books. the first in a trilogy was titled the boy in search of yesterday. it is, perceptibly, about a boy trying to relive his yesterday. in the process he learns to appreciate his present and look forward to his future.

the flop: recently, i received a link to an interesting book. this book is in spanish, but the title translates to the boy who searched for yesterday, and the artwork on the cover is nearly identical (in content) to a page in my book.

the turn: i need to obtain a copy of her book because just the title and the concept are somewhat typical (one can not copyright a song about breaking up because there are a million of them). well mine has a rhyme scheme. i don’t know if it could duplicated en enspanol. i ordered a copy of her version, so we’ll just wait and see.

the river: i registered my story with the u.s. copyright office. she was born and raised in central america, lived and studied in the united states for a period, but currently resides in nicaragua. she did copyright several works from 1981 to 1996 in the united states, but her yesterday story is not registered.

i bet if i call her bluff – i’d surely win half of nothing. i’ve seen enough gucci and nike rip offs in mexico, to know intellectual property is worthless.

i fold