What should I do if an art judge accuses my child of plagiarism without proof?

My child entered an art contest with an anime style drawing and was accused of plagiarism as the judges were looking over the art. They have not produced the ‘original’ artwork they say my child copied and refuse to retract their statement of plagiarism.
It was in front of the others participating in the contest, and my child is 15 and was trying for a scolarship. I did not see them draw this paticular drawing, they were staying at their father’s when it was produced, but have seen them draw many like it.

Did they make the statement about plagiarism in public, or only directly to you and/or the child?

If it is the former, you may have a case for defamation. That being said, there are two important issues to remember. 1) Truth is a complete defense to defamation. If you sue them, and they actually bring up evidence of plagiarism, end of case, you wasted money. 2) You have to prove that you (or the child) suffered remediable damages. If your kid is a 7 year old participating in a school contest, he will not have suffered any form of monetary damages, and you would not have a case.

If it was the latter, something they just said to you or the child privately, you do not have a case at all. They are free to believe exactly what they want about your child’s work, in private.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU

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