right of first publication
- noun
- Formal
:
derecho de primera publicación
- The author retained the right of first publication for her novel.
Examples
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If the manuscript is accepted, the journal will require the right of first publication.
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Did you secure the right of first publication for your article?
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Contracts must specify who holds the right of first publication to avoid later disputes.
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The author retained the right of first publication for her new novel.
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Contracts must specify who holds the right of first publication to avoid later disputes.
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If the manuscript is accepted, the journal will require the right of first publication.
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The author retained the right of first publication for her new novel.
Synonyms
212
3.6
A legal right that stops other people from copying or selling a creative work
14
7.2
One company has the sole right to sell something in a place
Surface Forms
Morphology
right + of + first + publication
The phrase’s meaning follows directly from combining 'right' (a legal entitlement) with 'first' (preceding others) and 'publication' (making something public): it denotes the entitlement to be the first to publish. Although used in legal contexts, the composition is literal and follows normal English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Right of first publication comes from publishing: imagine an author giving the first copy of a book to one publisher so only that publisher can publish it first. That's why the phrase means the legal right to be the one who publishes a work 'for the first time'.