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BALL OF CONFUSION: When copyright law was revised in 1976, artists and songwriters were granted termination rights, which enable them to regain control of their work after 35 years. But the Big Four aren’t going to give up ownership of valuable master recordings without a fight, obviously, as a prolonged legal battle of fundamental significance to the music business takes shape. The RIAA maintains that most recordings aren’t eligible for termination rights because they’re “works for hire,” collective works or compilations created by musicians who are, in essence, employees of the labels. Politically, Conyers and his fellow Dems tend to support the artists, while Republicans are considered to be more supportive of big business. For that reason, lawyers and managers have expressed doubts that a bipartisan agreement can be reached on the main issues relating to music copyrights. “Since I’m going to have to be working with them, I don’t want to tell you [Republicans] are conservative and corporate-oriented,” said Conyers. “That won’t help. I’ll be going to [Judiciary Committee Chairman] Lamar Smith after Labor Day to talk to him about this, about getting a little fairness into the entertainment industry.” (8/29a)