Artist Stanley Chow has criticised the Conservative Party after water bottles featuring his image of Andy Burnham were handed out at their conference in Birmingham. The bottles carried the headlines 'Bottler Burnham' and '0% strength'.
Copyright infringement claim
Mr Chow produced the image of the Prime Minister in his iconic style, which was licensed to the Labour Party. He said he became aware on October 4 that the bottles at the Conservative Party conference used the image without his permission.
In an Instagram post, Mr Chow wrote: "It seems like @conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party... regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it's still copyright infringement... I'll be seeking legal advice."
Artist's response
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Chow said he was 'calling the Tory party out' and making people aware that what they had done was wrong. He said: "It's really annoying. It's more annoying because it's the Tory Party. They are an institution and they should know better really."
Mr Chow noted that he had licensed the image to the Labour Party, the Manchester Evening News, and other magazines, who had paid for its use. He added: "And then we have the Tory party doing what they did. Reform UK did the same as well you know, and I had to take legal action as well then."
Previous legal action
Mr Chow's image of Mr Burnham was used in some of the party's material for the Makerfield election, which the former Mayor of Greater Manchester won. A Reform UK spokesman said at the time: "We maintain that the use of the material amounts to fair use and that this legal action is politically motivated. However, we have removed the posts in good faith and without any admission of liability on our part."
Speaking about the Conservatives, Mr Chow added: "They should have known and done their due diligence really before stealing someone's image and using it for something as childish as what they have done. I'm going to take legal advice and see what they say, and we will go from there basically."
Mr Chow said he wanted to protect the community of illustrators, noting that many artists do not know where to go when their artwork is used without payment. He said: "It's a case of calling the Tory party out. It's shameful really. It's making people aware that what they've done is wrong."
