Artist weighs legal action over Tory Burnham cartoon use — SkimNews
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- Stanley Chow, a Manchester-based illustrator who works for the New Yorker, is seeking legal advice after the Conservative party used his cartoon of the prime minister on "bottler Burnham" water bottles handed out to journalists at the party's conference this weekend.
- The cartoon was originally created for Conservative campaign material in the Makerfield byelection earlier in June, but Chow says the party never asked permission to reuse it at conference and has not responded to his letter seeking an explanation.
- Chow first learned of the unauthorized use while watching Sky News, where presenters held up the bottles and laughed at the slogan — he told the Guardian he was "more shocked" and "peeved," and called the joke "very childish."
- Reform UK has also used Chow's cartoon without permission in a social media attack advert carrying an anti-immigration message, a stance the artist does not endorse.
- Colin Bell, a partner at law firm Brabners, called the case "a clear case of copyright infringement" and said Chow is entitled to an injunction, cease-and-desist undertakings, compensation, and a public apology.
Why it matters: Chow has clashed with two parties — the Conservatives and Reform UK — over unauthorized political use of his work, while law firm Brabners has publicly backed the infringement claim, giving his threatened lawsuit legal weight before any filing even occurs.
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