Asterix rights owner unhappy with Obelix, the Danish cousin who joined the family uninvited

Vesterbro cafe told to stop using likenesses from French comic books

Hachette Livre, the owner of the worldwide rights to the Asterix comic books, has confirmed to Ekstra Bladet that it intends to take legal action against Café Obelix in Vesterbro for its widespread use of the books’ character names, likenesses and fonts in its menus, facade and branding.

Juliet Tillet, an executive responsible for foreign rights at the French publisher, has confirmed that a Danish legal firm has already been employed, and that the Copenhagen café had been told to desist immediately.

Alcohol no magic potion
“We are considering what steps we need to take to bring this infringement to an end,” she confirmed.

Hachette, which only found out about the infringement “recently” according to the tabloid, is also believed to be concerned that the café sells alcohol and tobacco products and is open at nighttime – all values that are contrary to its ethos.

Gunning for  the owner
Nevertheless, Ekstra Bladet’s reportage of the expected legal action appeared to be more preoccupied with the café’s hygiene and behaviour of Soren Nissen, the the owner since 2009.

Nissen, who denies violating the rights, is accused by the tabloid of relentlessly watching his employees via CCTV and calling up to check up on them, as well as running a café that fails to meet hygiene standards despite repeated warnings and fines from the national food authority, Fødevarestyrelsen.

TOP STORIES

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs