While I agree in principle that intellectual property is somehow fundamentally different from physical property, in the case of the "stolen" book, the creator i

While I agree in principle that intellectual property is somehow fundamentally different from physical property, in the case of the "stolen" book, the creator is not worse off only if the "thief" wouldn't have purchased the book otherwise. It's certainly true that the creator isn't out of pocket per person who reads the book, but that's not necessarily the same as "no worse off."