You're distinguishing more finely than I am between exact copies and modified copies. Fair enough. My use of "derivative" above is intended to encompass deriving copies from an original, with or without modification.
To the extent using software inherently means creating copies - so does reading. The image of the page is transferred to my retinas and encoded in the volatile storage of an organic neural network.
(I'm making the same distinction between exact and modified copies that the Creative Commons folks make...)
As to your second point... Ha! Fair enough. But IIRC case law has actually recognized that the copies created on a computer as you install and execute a program count as "copies" for the purpose of needing a license for an activity that would otherwise violate copyright. That is why EULAs are, to some extent, considered valid and enforceable. No such case has been made for your retinas encoding the light bouncing off a page and transferring that pattern to your neurons.
To the extent using software inherently means creating copies - so does reading. The image of the page is transferred to my retinas and encoded in the volatile storage of an organic neural network.