Let's say I took a bunch of different characters from various media; a head, 2 arms, 2 legs and a torso, glued them together and then traced over to create a more homogenized image... Is that a new thing? A remix? Or ripping other's work off?
I've just had this idea for a while (wanna try making my fursona from photos of a dog for the head and my own body for the body) and got curious if this proposed technique was done using others' material would be a violation or if it would be more like a remix.
That "finite and rivalrous" is a definition that sprung up quite recently and I don't know if I agree with it. How would one "steal a kiss" if it was a finite resource.
Also while stealing is not always "punishable by law", it can still be classified as wrongdoing. As an artist I find all forms of plagiarism to equate to stealing and while they won't land you behind bars, they may get you a status of persona non grata with other creatives.