I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen a great idea killed because the project leader or someone else with veto power didn't want someone else's idea or someone else's area of expertise to appear important. I've been (unofficially) fired from two jobs because I refused when my bosses flat-out told me to stop proposing solutions for the important problems, because that was their territory.

You fell afoul of Putt's First Law of Decision Making: Managers make decisions.

Successful managers know they are measured on their ability to make decisions and, whether right or wrong, take action. Thus, they readily grasp the significance of the First Law of Decision Making:

Managers make decisions.

Nonmanagers, by contrast, seldom concern themselves with this law. They may, therefore, commit the fatal error of making all decisions themselves. This is particularly true in technical hierarchies, where low-level technologists continually make decisions in their areas of expertise. Finding so few issues that the manager is qualified to decide, they are likely to forget to bring any issues to him at all. This was one of Roger Proofsworthy's many problems at the Ultima Corporation. He performed all of his assignments with such perfection that his accomplishments went unnoticed. Thus, he never progressed beyond the first level of the hierarchy and left in disgust.
The final blow to Roger Proofsworthy was management's rejection of his best project proposal. It was intended to provide Ultima with a continuing stream of new products. Proofsworthy called the project HOPE, an acronym for Highly Original Product Exploration.
Management was initially interested, and Proofsworthy was asked to make numerous presentations. At first, the questions were limited in scope. But as interest increased, they were broadened to include competition, patents, manufacturing, and finance. Each time, Proofsworthy was ready. No matter what the topic, he had already considered it and had determined a proper course of action.
If management had accepted Proofsworthy's recommendation to initiate project HOPE, Ultima's future exploratory activities would have been fully determined. No additional decisions would be needed by management. The excessive perfection of Proofsworthy thus threatened to deprive management of its primary function.
The members of management reacted in the only way they could. They rejected the project. Thus, they assured themselves of making many more decisions.