The Danish burger chain Jagger is embroiled in a name dispute with frontman of the band The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, reports Børsen.

According to case documents from the EU’s patent and trademark authority, the burger chain has been striving for seven years to obtain the exclusive right to sell burgers and operate restaurants under the name Jagger.

The company behind The Rolling Stones, Musidor, has protested the Danish burger chain since it was established in 2016 by Christian Brandt and Rasmus Oubæk. 

Two years after the pair started the Jagger chain, they applied for trademark registration in both Denmark and the EU. Jagger has since grown to 18 restaurants, all of which are located in Copenhagen. 

Musidor owns the rights to the name of the band, the name Mick Jagger, and the band’s iconic red-lips logo.

Musidor maintains that the Danish burger chain’s name is a breach of its rights to the name Mick Jagger.

Børsen reports that Musidor’s claim was partially upheld by the EU’s patent and trademark authority in 2021. 

In 2023, the burger chain filed a new case with the European authority with the aim of cancelling the Mick Jagger trademark because, according to the chain’s lawyer, “no real use has been made of it”.

Mikkel Kleis, a lawyer and partner in the Danish law and consultancy firm Patrade, which specialises in the protection and enforcement of patents and trademarks, has seen several of the case documents.

He assesses that the burger chain may ultimately be forced to change its name.

Denmark and the Czech Republic have signed a cooperation agreement to develop a pan-European ‘digital identity wallet’.

At an EU meeting in Belgium on Thursday, the Danish Digitization Minister Marie Bjerre and the Czech Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartos agreed on a roadmap of national projects and knowledge-sharing to build a ‘wallet’ app that will give citizens and businesses access to public digital services across the EU.

“The Czech Republic is one of our strong partners on the European digitalisation agenda and I am pleased to strengthen our cooperation. The digital ‘wallet’ app is an exciting tool that we must implement well – both nationally and in the EU. This cooperation will be crucial for the ‘wallet’ app to achieve its potential,” said Bjerre in a press release.

The cooperation agreement will facilitate the exchange of experience between the Digitalization Agency in Denmark and the Czech Digitalization and Information Agency.

Ex-Chief of Defence Flemming Lentfer is threatening to sue the Ministry of Defense for unfair dismissal, according to information in a letter, obtained by TV2, that the Ministry received on Friday morning from Lentfer’s lawyer Torben Koch.

“My client completely disputes that there is even a shadow of factual justification for any subsequent disciplinary action against my client, in the last instance dismissal,” writes Koch in the letter.

He calls on the Ministry to drop the whole case, and warns that his client is ready to proceed with legal action.

“I can already state that my client is prepared to sue the ministry alleging that a decision to resign will be an invalid decision on the basis of a lack of factual considerations,” writes Koch.

General Flemming Lentfer was fired as Chief of Defence last week after it came to light that a weapons-system malfunction aboard the Red-Sea-deployed frigate Iver Huitfeldt during a drone attack on March 9 had not been directly reported to Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

Poulsen, who instead learnt of the Danish warship’s malfunction from an article in the defence media Olfi almost a month later, justified the dismissal by saying he “no longer trusts” Lentfer.

In just a few years, the number of signups for the Association for Emergency Preparedness’ crisis preparation courses has exploded. 

In 2022, there were 270 students on the course, while in 2023 there were 2,160 – an increase of almost 700 percent. This year, the association expects over 4,600 to take part.

Speaking at a community centre in Gedser, where some 40 citizens were gathered for the course ‘Get ready for 3 days’, participant Finn Hansen told TV2: “I would like to hear whether the Emergency Management Association advises us to take any special precautions or whether we should buy some provisions.”

Director of the Association for Emergency Preparedness Carsten Iversen says: “The world situation has changed, both in terms of war and climate change, and we are now experiencing a doubling of the number of course participants.”

The course equips people to handle crisis situations, with teaching on topics like how to stay warm in a power cut, and how many supplies to stock at home to survive inside for three days.

According to the Danish national emergency plan, Danes should prepare themselves to manage without electricity, water, heat and shopping facilities for up to three days.

In 2023, a record number of cases of online banking fraud were reported – as much as double the amount in 2022, according to Finans Danmark, an interest organisation for banks and credit unions. 

Michael Busk-Jepsen, director of digitization at Finans Danmark, says fraudsters have become better at deceiving their victims:

“The criminals have gotten better, their tools have become more efficient, and unfortunately we have to admit that they are also successful, and that’s why they keep doing it,” he said in a press release.

He points out that the police struggle to solve this type of cybercrime, and perpetrators are rarely caught.

Last year, there were 9127 cases of online banking fraud. In 3842 of those cases, either the customer or the bank lost money.

Finans Danmark observes that online banking fraudsters specifically target older women.

“They have gone for names that are overrepresented in the older part of the female population,” says Busk-Jepsen.

The fraud, also called ‘phishing’, typically involves the criminal sending text messages or emails to the victims, where they are asked to enter their information.

“It is very common for criminals to use an occasion to send these emails and text messages. For example, it could be payment of tax or holiday pay,” says Busk-Jepsen.

Although phishing is the most widespread form of online banking fraud, there is another method that is more effective.

“The biggest losses actually happen when a criminal calls and asks the victim to disclose some things by telling a false story – perhaps that something is about to happen to one’s account and that funds must therefore be quickly transferred,” says Busk-Jepsen.

“You have to hang up the phone. The banks and the police don’t call like that,” he asserts, adding that you should never share your codes or personal information, and be mindful of what you approve on MitId.

This year, Roskilde Festival has more female than male headliners in its lineup, following on from a 2023 edition which received considerable backlash for lacking diversity on stage.

Speaking to DR, Nana Jacobi, a musician and director of HUN SOLO, which organises concerts with women and gender minorities, said: “After all, Roskilde is a beacon for Danish festivals. So when they make a statement, it is insanely impactful.”

The count was made by DR and does not take into account the fact that the various artists have session musicians and others on stage. 

Roskilde Festival itself does not provide statistics on gender distribution among the artists.

The Danish software company Systematic has won an international tender to deliver a software solution to the defence alliance NATO for the next 12 years, according to a press release from the company.

“The NATO alliance is the core upon which we depend for security in the West. That it has decided to build security systems based on our software – this is what we have worked for for 39 years,” director Nikolaj Bramsen told DR.

Of the 12 years covered by the DKK 212 million contract, the first two will comprise system implementation and training, with the following ten as a maintenance period.

The Danish software solution is called SitaWare and will be used in a command-control system for communication, planning and coordination during NATO missions.

Systematics SitaWare is already being used by some 50 countries, including Denmark and 17 other NATO countries.

According to captain Morten Kirkegaard of the Danish Armed Forces, upgrading to SitaWare corresponds to “going from sending letters to emails”.

Speaking to DR, he explains that the system can aid in making faster decisions on the battlefield.

Systematic was established in 1985, has over 1,000 employees, and supplies health and security IT solutions to over 50 countries.

In the financial year 2022/23, Systematic saw a turnover of around DKK 1.4 billion, and a profit of DKK 204 million after tax.

The Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard has announced a new court case that aims to disband the Bandidos MC gang in Denmark.

As in a previous case brought against the gang Loyal To Familia, the new case will explore whether a provisional ban can be placed on the Bandidos group.

“Gang misbehaviour does not belong in Denmark. We must use all tools to put an end to their existence,” said the Minister of Justice at a press conference on Wednesday.

Hummelgaard also suggested that cases can be brought against other criminal gangs, “if the authorities assess there is a basis for it”, but declined to comment directly on whether this would include Hells Angels, according to TV2.

“There is a huge amount of work behind having collected and assessed the evidence and circumstances that must exist to ban an association according to the terms of the constitution. It’s not something you just do,” he responded instead.

“We don’t want organisations involved in violence and crime to be able to hide behind the Constitution. Therefore, a lot of effort is put into building cases that can stand up in court,” he continued.

Bandidos MC’s lawyer Michael Juul Eriksen told TV2 on Wednesday he is not surprised by Hummelgaard’s intention to prosecute.

In June 2023, the ministry announced that the police’s National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) would launch an investigation to determine “whether there is a legal basis for the dissolution of the group”.

At the time, Juul Eriksen stated that “Bandidos will have a very good chance of showing that they have a legitimate purpose”.

Today, he reflected that: “after it was announced last summer that they would look into whether a case should be brought, my client was summoned to give an explanation. But a few days before we were to carry out that questioning, we read in the press that a proposal had been submitted for a case to be brought,” he said.

On that basis, he believes there is little interest from the prosecution in hearing the testimonies of the Bandidos themselves.

Juul Eriksen also represented Loyal To Familia during their dissolution case. 

In September 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the judgement of the city and high court to ban Loyal To Familia by sentence.

The Supreme Court justified it with the fact that “we are talking about an association that has committed extensive and serious crime. Thus, the association has an illegal purpose and can be dissolved according to section 78, subsection 1 of the Constitution.”

Attorney General Jan Reckendorff first brought the case before the Prosecutor’s Office, and called the ruling an “important decision”.

“It is a historic and principled judgement, and now both the City, National and Supreme Courts have said that LTF can be banned because it is an illegal purpose,” Reckendorff told TV2 at the time.

It’s not every day that Enhedslisten and Dansk Folkeparti take a shared political stance, but the far-left and far-right parties, respectively, have found common ground in their disdain of the EU’s long-awaited ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’, which the European Parliament is due to vote on today.

After years of struggle by EU countries to manage migrant arrivals into the bloc, the European Commission proposed a broad policy reform in September 2020, aimed at establishing a clear and common framework for handling migration

Anders Vistisen from Dansk Folkeparti says that he is voting no to the pact:

“It is completely inadequate legislation that is now adopted five minutes before the election to try to reassure the people of Europe,” he told DR.

“The truth is that there is chaos at the outer borders, and they are now trying to put a band-aid on a broken leg. This legislation does not solve the fundamental problems.”

Enhedslisten’s Nikolaj Villumsen also intends to vote against the pact – though for completely different reasons.

“This is a missed opportunity. I would rather see this agreement renegotiated so that you could get a real solidarity distribution with help in the surrounding areas. The current agreement calls into question the right to asylum,” he said.

The Pact proposes new processes for handling refugees and migrants in EU countries. There is a focus on keeping new arrivals at the external borders, where there will be a faster screening process to determine whether the asylum seeker has the right to protection in the EU, or whether they can be sent back to their country of origin.

Not all Danish members of the European Parliament oppose the package of new proposals.

Venstre’s Morten Løkkegaard intends to vote in favour of the pact: “After all, this pact brings us one step further in this very delicate discussion about migration, which we have had for some years now. It is far from the solution to everything, but it is a step in the right direction,” he said.

He questions whether it will be possible to agree on anything in the area of ​​migration if this collection of laws is not voted through.

“You risk losing a small but significant step towards solving this problem. If you can’t even get through with this, it sends a signal that there is no agreement on that point in Europe at all, and that is the wrong signal to send in an EP election.”

SF’s Kira Marie Peter-Hansen is also predominantly positive towards the agreement – but will not vote in favour of all of its elements:

“We are extremely happy that an agreement on asylum and migration has finally been reached. It is obvious to everyone that the current system does not work. We are happy that we have a solidarity mechanism, and we hope that Denmark will make use of it,” she said.

Due to its special EU reservations, Denmark is exempted from having to accept laws passed in the European Parliament. However, the government is open to joining parts of the migration pact.

“We are going to join a number of the agreements that are in this asylum and migration pact. There are some things we will be left out of, including the forced redistribution of refugees that exists within the EU,” said Minister for Immigration Kaare Dybvad.

He added: “We are going to help in the way we already do by making contributions to the European countries that lie on the outer borders. For example, by providing naval and coastal vessels in the Mediterranean.”

The right-wing party Liberal Alliance has scrapped its 2035 economic plan and will no longer support a full abolition of the top tax. Instead the goal is to halve it, party leader Alex Vanopslagh told Jyllands-Posten, ahead of the party’s national meeting this weekend.

In the interview, he revealed only aspects of Liberal Alliance’s new economic plan, which is yet to be presented in full.

“Economic conditions may change, so if we present it now, we would have to adjust it and relaunch it right before the election. So it won’t be presented until later,” he explained.

Vanopslagh also voiced his intention that Liberal Alliance will become a leading government party: “The goal and hope is that we can become a leading government party, and it is in this light that we also believe that we must present a plan that can be implemented in one election period,” he said.

While Liberal Alliance’s incremental approach to reducing the top tax is new, the party’s ultimate stance – that the top tax must be removed – has not.

Vanopslagh also revealed that the party will not seek as many public sector budget cuts as previously announced.

Liberal Alliance, which currently has 15 seats in the Folketing, is polling very favourably. In the latest survey carried out by Epinion for DR, the party has 24 mandates – making it the third largest party in the Folketing.

This has fuelled speculation about whether Vanopslagh will put himself forward as a candidate for Prime Minister in the next election.

Speaking to Jyllands-Posten, he dismissed the idea: “It’s a no, understood in the sense that it’s not what fills up my head. If I had the choice between ‘you can become Minister for Equality and implement this plan you are going to present’, and ‘you can become Prime Minister, and then you will only be able to implement a fraction’, then I would take the position of Minister for Equality,” he said.

Meanwhile, the seasoned former Venstre politician Claus Hjort Frederiksen spoke favourably of Vanoplasgh’s potential candidacy in an interview with Berlingske on Sunday.

“It is quite obvious that he is at the head of the large right-wing party. Therefore, it is also obvious that he takes on that task,” he said.

In the past five years, 28 coastal municipalities have slowed coastal protection projects due to budget constraints, legislation and citizen opposition, according to a survey by the magazine Momentum, published by the National Association of Municipalities (KL).

The results, based on responses from 55 of Denmark’s 77 coastal municipalities, highlight the importance of long-term thinking to address the challenges posed by rising sea levels, says chair of KL’s Climate and Environment Committee Birgit Stenbak Hansen.

“A legislation change is required where civil resistance and misplaced concern for nature stands in the way of making necessary safeguards for coastal stretches,” she added.

In Seden Strandby in Odense Municipality, nature protection legislation has slowed the pace of work on a dyke to the west and north of the small district.

The area is part of the EU mapping Natura 2000, which ensures existing natural areas are protected. The dyke project, which proposes to cut through the gardens of several coastal houses to protect from storm surges, must work around these rules.

“It must be done properly, and we must take care of nature. It therefore takes longer and requires us to work in a different way than we would have done if the requirements were not there,” says the project manager on the EU project Climate Adaptation in Odense Michelle Moustgaard Birch.

The government has placed increased focus on coastal protection recently, in its so-called Climate Adaptation Plan 1, and in extending the ‘coastal pool’ – a grant scheme for municipalities to fund dykes and other coastal protection constructs.

In a written statement to Ritzau, Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said: “We are looking at a future of more extreme weather and rising water levels, and therefore the government wants to speed up the coastal protection of Denmark.”