To intellectually steal something, you have to profit financially from the sale of someone else’s idea. Meaning if I pirate cd’s and sell them to others, I stole the IP (intellectual property) of the artist and profited from what the artist may or should have. However, until then, the creator is not losing anything. Having a copyright does not make it illegal to reproduce the idea.
Another example. If I wanted to keep a copy of a certain article in a magazine I purchased, I would definitely be allowed to type up the article in Word and save it in my computer. The benefit of reading and having a copy of the article is not illegal. Selling the article to some magazine to be published, yes.
I don’t think this is correct. I’m pretty certain it is illegal to reproduce it even just to look at, and even if you do it by retyping it, or whatever. You can read all about it at 17 USC 101 et seq. I’m putting a link to a free online version of the code, and we’ll see if the mods let it through (just be aware that what really matters is how the courts interpret the code, not what it says.) http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/chapter-1