What you point out is true, and it has been transformed into a gray area because of the tendency of the scientific community to preserve the status quo of the paradigm adopted (almost by obligation) by a majority that ends up repeating what a minority pointed out on its occasion and now it makes sure to limit the possibility of it being reviewed or reinterpreted.
In this scenario, your own or private ideas are NOT valid unless they are based on what another researcher has previously stated.
A paradigm that validates itself