Right

A short-lived (typically less than 90 days) call option for purchasing additional stock in a firm, issued by the firm to all its shareholders on a pro rata basis. The New York Times Financial Glossary

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right right [raɪt] noun

1. [countable] if you have the right to do something, you are morally, legally, or officially allowed to do it:

• Like other businesses, we have a right to set competitive prices.

• Do regions such as Champagne have the exclusive right (= a right that only they have ) to the use of their names in wine labeling?

• New legislation is gradually taking away workers' rights.

• Your legal rights are the same when you buy mail order as when you buy from a shop.

inˌalienable ˈright [countable] LAW

a right that cannot be taken away from you:

• the inalienable right to own property

• People are being denied their inalienable rights.

ˈpatent ˌright [countable] LAW

the right to make or sell something, that is given to the person or company that owns the patent:

• The product can only be produced if the company purchases the patent right.

ˈpension ˌrights [plural] especially BrE FINANCE

the right that someone has to receive a pension from a company or from the government, especially when they stop work at a particular age:

• The workers' pension rights must be safeguarded.

ˌsuper ˈvoting ˌrights [plural]

FINANCE extra voting rights, usually five or ten votes for each share, that someone who owns a particular class of shares in a company has. Shares with super voting rights are usually held by company directors or by the person who first established a company.

ˈvoting ˌrights [plural] FINANCE

the right of someone who has shares in a company to attend and vote at the company's general meeting

2. rights also stock rights [plural] FINANCE rights offered to existing shareholders to buy more shares in a company, perhaps at a reduced price:

• The board approved a plan to raise $30 million through a stock rights offering.

— see also rights issue ➔ issue²

preˌemptive ˈright [countable] FINANCE

the right that a shareholder has to buy new shares issued by the same company before they are offered to the public:

• Existing shareholders have preemptive rights to buy new shares in proportion to their existing holdings.

3. rights [plural] LAW if a person or company has the rights to something, they are legally allowed to use it to make money:

• They were granted the movie rights to her life story.

• Warner will have all distribution rights in the U.S. and Canada.

ˈgrandfather ˌrights [plural] TRANSPORT

at an airport, the rights of airline S to use Take-Off and landing (= times at which aircraft can leave and arrive ) that they have always had, and not to be forced to give or sell them to other airlines:

• At present, airlines hold the slots in perpetuity (= for ever ) giving them so-called grandfather rights.

ˌmoral ˈrights [plural] LAW

the rights of a writer or artist not to have their work performed, changed etc in a way that harms people's opinion about them or their work:

• The principle of moral rights should be reaffirmed.

perˈforming ˌrights [plural] LAW

the rights of the person who has the legal ownership of a piece of music, a play etc to control where and when it can be performed, and to charge money for performing it

ˈproperty ˌrights [plural] LAW

the right to own and make a profit from capital, land etc

proˈprietary ˌrights [plural] LAW

the rights of a company to sell a product based on particular ideas and designs, or to sell or allow others to use those rights for payment:

• It still has all proprietary rights to the substance.

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right UK US /raɪt/ noun

► [C or U] someone who has the right to something, or the right to do something, is allowed to have it or do it, often legally or officially: have a right to sth »

Everybody has a right to equal treatment.

have the right to do sth »

Shareholders have the right to vote on the appointment of a new CEO.

»

She is a leading campaigner for consumer rights.

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workers'/employment rights

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human/civil rights

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voting/property rights

● rights — Cf. rights

● all rights reserved — Cf. all rights reserved

● rights — Cf. rights

→ See also EX-RIGHTS(Cf. ↑ex-rights), GRANDFATHER RIGHTS(Cf. ↑grandfather rights), INALIENABLE RIGHT(Cf. ↑inalienable right), MORAL RIGHTS(Cf. ↑moral rights), PATENT RIGHT(Cf. ↑patent right), PENSION RIGHTS(Cf. ↑pension rights), PERFORMING RIGHTS(Cf. ↑performing rights), PRE-EMPTION RIGHTS(Cf. ↑pre-emption rights), PROPERTY RIGHTS(Cf. ↑property rights), PROPRIETARY RIGHTS(Cf. ↑proprietary rights), STOCK RIGHT(Cf. ↑stock right)