Pretty sure stealing means to take without permission or right. Just because you don't take another person's copy away doesn't mean you had a right or permission to take a copy at all.

You didn't "take" a copy. You made one. Without permission, that's copyright violation, not theft.

Stop spreading confusion.

If you consume the product, you've achieved the same goal as if you had legally paid for it.

So if I break into a theater when it's closed and make a reel-to-reel copy of a movie with my own film stock, then I didn't just steal it?

Good to know.

No. You are guilty of the copyright violation and the break in. As long as you don't steal anything, it's not theft.