Right to kudos

[Jonathan Buhacoff]

The proposed right:

No person shall falsely take credit for accolades, actions, communications, or contributions that were not their own or did not occur. No person shall falsely take credit for accolades, actions, communications, or contributions of another person. No person shall falsely deny the accolades, actions, communications, or contributions of another person.

Intent:

The word kudos means fame, renown, or glory and originates from the Greek word kydos, meaning “that which is heard of” or possibly “to see, observe, perceive” (from Online Etymoloby Dictionary).

The right to kudos prohibits people from taking credit and receiving benefits for things they never did or that never even happened. This harms the public by claiming benefits that are not due.

The right to kudos prohibits people from taking credit and receiving benefits for things that other people did. This harms the victim by claiming benefits due to the victim.

The right to kudos prohibits people from denying credit or benefits to people who deserve them. This harms the victim by deliberately depriving them of benefits due to the victim.

A person may waive their right to kudos for a specific accolade, action, communication, or contribution. This doesn’t give anyone permission to falsely take credit for it, but it does allow the person who holds the waiver to omit the credit to the individual.

Discussion:

It can be said that the right to kudos is covered by the right to honest and peaceful communication, in that falsely claiming credit someone else’s contribution, or falsely denying someone else’s contribution, is dishonest and is not covered speech. However, the right to honest and peaceful communication is focused on the right of the person who is communicating, while the right to kudos is focused on the consequences of the dishonest communication to protect the person who said or did or contributed something of value which someone else is omitting or misrepresenting either for their own benefit or to harm the victim, or to protect the public from people who misrepresent themselves.

Most of the time, giving proper attribute or citation or credit for someone’s contribution is free, a mere mention somewhere. The only reason that a person has to falsely take credit for or falsely deny the work of someone else is to either claim a benefit for themselves or deny a benefit to that person — both of these are a kind of harm.

The right to kudos allows anyone who knows of an occurrence of false attribution, false denial of credit, or intentional omission of credit, to advocate for the proper attribution or citation, even if the victim is dead — perhaps especially if the victim is dead, as they are unable to advocate for themselves.

A person may waive their right to kudos for a specific accolade, action, communication, or contribution. This doesn’t give anyone permission to falsely take credit for it, but it does allow the person who holds the waiver to omit the credit to the individual. For example, a “ghost writer” writing a book for hire may waive the right to kudos for that work so their name does not appear on the book. However, this does not give the book’s purported author permission to claim they actually wrote the book — that would be falsely taking credit for things they didn’t do. Instead, it allows the book’s purported author to state that it is their story and that it was written with the help of someone (the “ghost writer”), without being required to disclose the ghost writer’s identity. With a waiver in place, the ghost writer would not sue for credit since the book’s author has the waiver and the ghost writer would immediately lose in court. If anyone else believes they know who wrote the book and believes that the purported author is falsely claiming credit, the statement that the book was written with help demonstrates the author is not falsely claiming credit, and the author can disclose the waiver in court to the judge, under seal, to demonstrate that a waiver is in place, without disclosing the waiver itself to the plaintiff who has no right to see it. On the other hand, a purported author who publishes a book without the statement that is was written with help, or with that statement but without attributing a ghost writer and without having a waiver in place, is likely to lose to that ghost writer in court when the ghost writer sues.

In academia, there is an emphasis on the proper citation of the work of others. This is covered by the right to kudos.

Copyright law protects the copyright holder of a work, while the right to kudos protects the original author as well as the publisher, each for their contributions.

Patent law protects the owner of the patent, while the right to kudos protects the inventor as well as the assignee, each for their own contribution.

The right to kudos does not apply to negative information. For example, if someone made a mistake or did something very bad, people don’t have an obligation to tell anyone about it. The right to justice does allow anyone to report criminal activity or violation of rights regardless of any confidentiality agreement that may be in place.

Comparison with the United Nations

Article 27.2 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.” The right to kudos and the right to creative benefit together cover this protection of moral and material interests resulting from one’s contributions to society.

Comparison with the United States

In the United States, the Stolen Valor Act makes it a crime to fraudulently claim having received a military valor award with the intention of obtaining some benefit from that claim. The right to kudos covers the same intent by prohibiting people from taking credit and receiving benefits for things they never did or that never even happened, and extends it more broadly so it’s not just for military service. For example, if someone claims to be a doctor or lawyer or a recipient of some prestigious award when, in fact, they are not, they are violating the right to kudos because whoever they are misrepresenting themselves to might extend to them some credit or benefit or goodwill that they have not earned and are not due.

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