What Are Your Rights?
In 1978 the copyright laws changed. A writer no longer needs to register his or her work with the copyright office to hold the copyright. A paper or electronic-file copy of the original work with a copyright notice is adequate.
A copyright notice includes: copyright symbol + year + your full name.
A copyright lasts 75 years after an author's death. At that point, it becomes "public domain," unless additional rights are obtained.
Most magazines and many newspapers have their own copyrights which also protect your printed work.
At present, there is little copyright protection on the Internet. Many magazines now include Electronic Rights in their contracts since they have Online versions of their publications. As the author, you need to determine if you will allow them, knowing that once on the Internet, there is less opportunity for Reprint Right sales.
There are three main categories of rights: "Serial" rights refer to magazine sales. "Book" rights refer to book sales. "Electronic" rights means the work can be published on the Internet.

Types of Rights:
First Rights= This right gives a publication the right to publish your manuscript first. You cannot have sold or given this manuscript to any other publication, and until it appears in print by the purchasing publication, you cannot sell it again. After appearing in print, all remaining rights revert back to you.
Second Rights = These are like first rights, except you promise the publication it will be the second to print your work.
Reprint Rights = This sells the right to publish a manuscript that has appeared in print. It does not specify if it is the second or tenth time printed.
One-time Rights = This gives a publication the right to publish your work one time without disclosing its publishing history.
All Rights = This give the publication exclusive rights to your work. You cannot sell it again without written permission from the purchasing publication.
Electronic Rights = This give the purchaser the right to publish your work in electronic form. You retain your rights to the manuscript, but it is out of your control.