Rant: People these days are largely illiterate about IP laws, unfortunately.

It's only copyright violation if the law says it is. There are plenty of exceptions already.

Also: Theft in all laws I know requires depriving "someone" of the original. ie. photocopying a page isn't theft, but it may or may not be copyright infringement depending on local laws.

Copyright is a legal construct and not a natural right: nowadays it heavily favours large copyright holders (eg. Music labels, Disney) and their law firms to the disadvantage of the average joe. US Inc has forced their own IP laws upon the world, and IMHO the world would be much better with significantly shorter copyright terms, and much narrower patent categories.