I largely agree with the sentiment behind the statement you're referring to, but I disagree with its framing. Piracy has never been stealing, nor theft, in the

I largely agree with the sentiment behind the statement you're referring to, but I disagree with its framing. Piracy has never been stealing, nor theft, in the entire period of time when "piracy" has existed as a term for "copyright infringement". Stealing involves depriving someone of a piece of property, not merely the profit from selling it. I'm not aware of anyone, ever, who has been charged with criminal theft because they duplicated an existing work. Piracy has never been stealing, but until somewhat recently, buying was always owning (in terms of the physical copy, not in terms of the copyright). If it were possible to scan an object that is protected by patents/trademarks/copyright and later reproduce it with perfect fidelity from raw materials, should that be considered "stealing"? Of course not. It might violate, in some sense, one or more of the rights often lumped into the colloquial term "intellectual property". But it cannot be theft, as the owner of the original object was not, in any way, deprived of their property.