The Conservative Party has agreed to pay artist Stanley Chow after he threatened legal action over the unauthorised use of his portrait of Andy Burnham on merchandise at the party's conference.
Chow accused the Conservatives of copyright infringement after his cartoon, which featured prominently in the Labour leader's Makerfield by-election campaign, appeared on water bottles handed out to journalists at the event this autumn. The bottles bore the words “Bottler Burnham” and “0% strength”.
Agreement to pay fee and costs
The Press Association understands the party agreed to pay a £1,000 copyright fee and a contribution to legal costs.
Chow said: “After seeing my portrait used by Reform to push messages I fundamentally disagree with, finding it on Conservative conference giveaways was frustrating. This is work I’ve put time and care into, and it’s how I make my living. Artists should have a say in where their work appears and what it’s used to promote.
“I hope this makes political parties – and others – think twice before treating artists’ work as theirs for the taking. You might expect the Conservative Party would want to support Britain’s creative industries – asking an artist’s permission before using their work would be a good place to start.”
Party response
A Conservative spokesman said: “The Conservative Party values the importance of intellectual property in the creative industries. We consider this matter closed.”
A party source said the water bottles had sought to highlight what they described as the Prime Minister “ducking big decisions like cutting welfare to fund defence”, and that “sadly for families across the country, these depictions of Andy Burnham remain very real”.
