After ascending the podium, his boss explained to the staff the salient features of his project and the strain he had been through to come up with the outcome after extensive studies that took several months. It still rankles Naif that his boss took the whole credit for his innovative project.

A few days earlier, Naif had presented his project to his boss. Unfortunately, his dream of winning appreciation and getting rewarded for the hard work was shattered. It was a shock to see his boss snatching the entire credit of his project as a thief stealing valuables. 

According to a report in Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, taking credit for other people’s endeavors happens at workplaces, schools, or even at homes. Those who strove hard for accomplishing a mission remain unrecognized or unrewarded, while an unscrupulous superior takes the entire credit. As a result, the victims don’t enjoy the sense of achievement they deserve. It destroys their initiative and lessens their willingness to put in hard work.

Snatching credit for individual endeavors happens not only in innovative works, but also in simple day-to-day things. In all cases, the victims are deprived of their genuine rights, stated by the report.

Speaking to Al-Riyadh, some victims noted that people who steal credit for endeavors of their subordinates, friends, relatives or even students do not have a sound conscience.

Somayya Abdullah, a schoolteacher, had such a bitter experience in her school. Abdullah believed that new ideas in teaching would help create the best learning environment. Accordingly, she prepared a comprehensive project to develop children’s sense of patriotism. She suggested that if the project became successful, it could be displayed on the frontal side of the Education Department or the city's main street. She presented a document with all the details of the project to her boss.

The school director was highly impressed by the project and promised her that she would try her best to secure approval from the concerned officials. However, Abdullah found out later that the project was presented as the brainchild of the director herself. When she lodged a complaint, the director threw out the entire project, and pressed Abdullah not to raise the matter again. This bitter experience demoralized Abdullah to a great extent. 

Abdul Rahman Al-Saad is another victim. He prepared a comprehensive and innovative project to improve the efficiency and performance of the department headed by him, and presented it to his boss. After some time, he was transferred to another department. A few months later, he noticed that the project was implemented in his old department. The credit of the project was attributed to the new supervisor.

Outraged, Al-Saad protested to his boss, but to no avail. Instead, his boss threatened him and reminded him that the public interest would prevail.

Speaking to the newspaper, Saireen, a housemaid, voiced her displeasure over the theft of her ideas by none other than her woman employer. Working as a domestic servant for more than 10 years, Saireen was highly proficient in cooking most Gulf and Arab dishes.

Her dishes were popular among the neighbors and relatives of the household, who approached her every now and then with a request to prepare dishes for them. But she noticed that her employer was keen in taking the credit of the dishes prepared by her.

Saireen said that her employer always boasted about preparing the dishes herself without seeking help from the maid. “At last, I lost my temper and questioned the woman about it. Her reply was that she did not want to tell anybody that her maid was a better cook than herself,” she said.

Commenting on the topic, social science expert Saad Al-Hassan, a faculty member at King Saud University, compared taking credit of other people’s work with plucking fruit. “Some people cultivate and grow plants. By the time the fruit ripens, someone else comes to pluck it. This attitude is quite inappropriate to the spirit of work,” he said.

Al-Hassan noted that there is nothing that prevents some people from taking credit of others' endeavors. “This could be classified as some sort of social or work hypocrisy. The credit of the work must go to its original owner,” he said.

Al-Hassan drew attention to an experiment introduced by King Saud University. “There are committees for the rights of students at the university, which students can approach with their complaint if one of their efforts is robbed or taken away by someone. The committee ensures restoration of the rights to real owners,” he said.

Al-Hassan underlined the need for getting an acknowledgment from the concerned superior official when presenting any innovative projects to him. He drew attention to the fact that one can apply for patent after registering innovative work at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

Al-Hassan also explained patent registration procedures at the global level. “Copyright law is another way to protect innovative work in the academic field,” he added.