Taking a Stick to a Copyright Claim

From today’s NY Times, and a story about a raid by Mexican authorities on shops selling piñatas that resemble famous cartoon characters, such as Spider-Man, without permission from the relevant rights holders, comes the following quotation that distills a key argument about IP rights in terms that any lay person can understand:

“A piñata is Mexican,” said Eduardo Bejaramo, a vendor who had been detained in the raid. “It’s just newspaper with paint on it. We’re not copying music or films. We’re doing all this by hand. How can we copy if Marvel does not make piñatas?”