public rights
Shared legal freedoms
Public rights are legal entitlements held by citizens generally rather than by individuals—rights to use navigable waters, access public lands, or travel on highways.
The term contrasts with private rights, which belong to specific persons.
In intellectual property, works enter the public domain when public rights replace exclusive ownership: After the copyright expired, the book became a public right.
- citizen oversightPublic supervision of authorities
- healthcare accessAbility to obtain treatment
- education accessAvailability of schooling
- freedom of assemblyRight to gather peacefully
- clean water accessAvailability of uncontaminated drinking supply
whistleblower protections · common good · equal protection · freedom of association · due process · climate justice · access to justice · civil liberties · religious freedoms · freedom of speech · gender equality · racial equity · town hall · food security · eminent domain · freedom of information · sustainable development · pollution control
public rightsprivate rights
Legally protected individual entitlements
proprietary rights · exclusive rights · individual rights · personal rights · special rights
public rightsimmunities
Protections from penalty or disease
franchises · licenses · concessions · monopoly rights · vested interests
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