Conservatives pay artist over unauthorised Burnham portrait use

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Nov, 12:26 · Archive

The Conservative Party has agreed to pay illustrator Stanley Chow £1,000 after using his Andy Burnham portrait without permission.

The Conservative Party has reached a financial settlement with illustrator Stanley Chow after he threatened legal action over the unauthorised use of his Andy Burnham portrait. The artwork, originally produced for the Labour leader's Makerfield by-election campaign, was printed onto water bottles distributed to journalists at the Conservatives' autumn conference, alongside the slogans 'Bottler Burnham' and '0 per cent strength'.

Chow alleged copyright infringement and said he was frustrated to find his work used without permission. He noted that his portrait had previously been used by Reform to promote messages he disagreed with. The party agreed to pay a £1,000 copyright fee and contribute towards Chow's legal expenses.

Chow said he hoped the settlement would prompt political parties to ask artists' permission before using their work. He stated: 'Artists should have a say in where their work appears and what it's used to promote.' A Conservative spokesman responded by saying the party 'values the importance of intellectual property in the creative industries' and considered the matter closed.

How it is being reported

• Tories agree to pay artist who threatened legal action over ‘Burnham Bottler’Stanley Chow accused the Conservatives of copyright infringement after his cartoon appeared on merchandise at the party’s conference this autumnEvening Standard · 14 Nov, 11:57
• Tories agree to pay artist after legal threat over ‘Bottler Burnham’Illustrator Stanley Chow previously claimed the Conservatives ‘haven’t done their due diligence’The Independent · 14 Nov, 09:42

In this story: Stanley Chow · Andy Burnham · Conservative Party · Reform

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log