When Bobby is accused of stealing Sally&#x27;s idea for the Halloween costume contest, no one wrings their hands about the non-excludablility of an &quot;idea&quot;. Nobody tells Sally, &quot;Bobby didn&#x27;t steal it, he committed idea-infringement, Sally.&quot;<p>In layman&#x27;s terms, &quot;steal&quot; is perfectly acceptable. Everyone understands what it means in this context.