Everyone's ignored it at some point in time. You know, that little "c" inside a circle denoting that a publication has been copyrighted.

These days, nearly all printed media and literary works are copyrighted. Books, Internet articles, newspapers, music, sound recordings, software and videos, among much else, have all been marked with that same little "c." The little "c" signifies that the composition is protected and therefore cannot be legally reproduced without permission.

However, many people ignore the "c." Issues such as piracy, particularly the unlawful downloading songs off the Internet, and plagiarism have become prevalent. Some schools have even resorted to professional software that scans student papers for plagiarism.

But these are only two among many copyright violations, some of which are laughably trivial.

If a teacher comes across a newspaper article that ties in with the curricula of his or her class, it's technically illegal for that teacher to copy and distribute the article to students year after year.

Also, copying sheet music for members of a band or orchestra is prohibited.

What's more, people cannot reproduce photos of themselves that were taken professionally or printed in a newspaper. Take such a photo to Kinkos and the employees will refuse to duplicate it.

Yeah, okay, I understand copyright laws and I fully agree with their intent. But sometimes people should just use their good judgment, especially in situations like these.

Copyright legislation is meant to protect people and give them the credit they deserve for their work. However, copyrights should really only pertain when people attempt to sell others' work or claim it as their own, both of which are incredibly wrong and unethical.

It's unfortunate that we need copyright laws, really, that people cannot simply respect each other's work or be reasonable with regard to the material they choose to duplicate.

I wish people wouldn't resort to dishonesty and stealing other people's compositions. For, as put by acclaimed author Herman Melville, "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." If everyone could value his or her originality and individuality, the world would be a much more meaningful place.