Ripping off, literally, is theft. In the legal contexts you're talking about, it's used as a hyperbolic metaphor. Those are distinct meanings. Arguing about it is pointless.
I bet I see or hear "ripoff" and derivatives used to describe what turned out to be a shitty deal, about 100x more often than I see or hear it used to mean "stealing".
[EDIT] But perhaps it connotes differently outside American English? That could be.
[EDIT] But perhaps it connotes differently outside American English? That could be.