He hasn't been harmed, so there is no crime.
Well, if someone rapes you -- gently, so there is no damage, no
harm as such -- is that a crime?
Is physical harm the only measure? If you threaten my friend Mike, who is a seriously badass martial-arts instructor, he's probably only going to keep rather more of an eye on you than otherwise, but you're really not going to bother him. If you threaten my other friend Paul, who is of double-digit IQ and was abused for most of his childhood, he'll panic and have nightmares for weeks. Law might not tax you with any "harm" done to Paul, but I'd really like to inflict real harm on you for messing with him, especially if you knew how he'd feel about it.
If someone breaks into your home but doesn't disturb anything -- for a prank, say -- is that a crime?
I'm talking in RL with someone who would feel trespassed against by someone using her idea without permission. Myself, I am rather bemused by that feeling. I'd be mildly annoyed, very mildly.
Here's a question: would you expect me to be a) happy; b) sad; c) angry or d) indifferent, if you sold my book without my permission?
If you think it even
might be b) or c), and you do it anyway, I don't think that's "just" a "dick move". (I think it's a dick move if you do it without bothering to wonder how the other person would respond.)
We have an expectation that others will refrain from deliberately doing things that can pretty well be predicted to cause unhappiness. That's pretty vague and sloppy, to be sure; I for one would
like to offend someone who is offended by human nudity, but I guess that's because I see that offense as sort of optional (not to mention inordinately pointless). I might have "views" about whether you "should" be upset if I break into your home without disturbing anything, but I would in fact be (extremely!) surprised if you were
not upset.
I'd be very surprised if you were not upset at being forced into even the gentlest of sex acts.
I'd be surprised if you were not upset at my selling your book without checking in with you (even though, as I said, I myself wouldn't be
very upset).
Being human, I think we have a pretty good idea of what will and will not please our fellow humans. To deliberately do something that we know will not please -- ? Is that not a crime against what keeps us in society with one another, that mutual trust? Dante placed counterfeiters in one of the very lowest circles of Hell precisely because they transgressed against the trust that made currency possible.
I don't know if the author of the book has "standing" to call for arbitration; I think, though, that other members of the community might call the unauthorized seller up for arbitration, and restitution to the community.
Thoughts?