serial rights

plural noun

1. commercial rights to publish an author's work, usually a novel, or to use it on radio or television one chapter or episode at a time.

Word History and Origins

Origin of serial rights¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

President Trump pulled the United States out of the 47-member body two years ago, accusing it of an anti-Israel bias and of accepting members from some countries with autocratic governments that are serial rights violators.

From Fox News

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 47-member body two years ago, accusing it of an anti-Israel bias and of accepting members from some countries with autocratic governments that are serial rights violators.

From Washington Times

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 47-member body two years ago, accusing it of an anti-Israel bias and of accepting members from some autocratic governments that are serial rights violators.

From Seattle Times

‘The Power of Habit’ had two publicists, a production editor, several marketers and designers, a serial rights person and a sales force that had been working for months to make it a success.

From New York Times

Her earnings must be estimated at approximately seventy-five thousand dollars yearly, of which much, now as in times past, would be for serial rights to magazines with whose feminine readers she is always a heavy favorite.

From The New Yorker