(Disclaimer: I am not a libertarian or an Objectivist.)
IMHO one of the characteristics of owning something is that you have the right to control how it's used without having to justify that decision to anyone else. If you camp out in my back yard while I'm on vacation, you are trespassing on my property even if you don't uproot a single blade of grass. I don't have to argue with the police about whether or not my yard was damaged by your presence because the law considers trespass to be damage in and of itself.
Now I think extenting the concept of "property" to intellectual works is fraught with problems, but I don't think Rand would agree with me.
IMHO one of the characteristics of owning something is that you have the right to control how it's used without having to justify that decision to anyone else. If you camp out in my back yard while I'm on vacation, you are trespassing on my property even if you don't uproot a single blade of grass. I don't have to argue with the police about whether or not my yard was damaged by your presence because the law considers trespass to be damage in and of itself.
Now I think extenting the concept of "property" to intellectual works is fraught with problems, but I don't think Rand would agree with me.