'Yellowstone' Creator Slaps Series Star with Lawsuit as Show Nears End
“Yellowstone” writer and creator Taylor Sheridan is suing actor Cole Hauser’s coffee company for alleged trademark infringement, according to reports.
Fox Business reported Hauser recently partnered up with a San Angelo, Texas-based coffee company to unveil Free Rein Coffee Company.
He and his business associates say the brand embodies the spirit of the West — which Hauser has come to truly appreciate through five seasons on the set of Sheridan’s show.
In October, he unveiled the company in an ad he shared on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
Hauser, who has played the character Rip Wheeler on the smash hit show since 2018, is featured heavily on Free Rein’s website.
According to Fox Business, Sheridan is not suing one of his hit show’s stars for embracing the cowboy way of life, but over Free Rein’s logo — which he says looks too similar to his own coffee company’s logo.
Sheridan’s coffee company Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee uses overlapping B and R letters, whereas Hauser’s brand uses the overlapping letters F and R.
In a trademark infringement lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Texas on Nov. 21, Sheridan’s brand alleged Hauser’s brand uses “a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers.”
“A little over three months after Sheridan announced Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee, another Yellowstone star, Cole Hauser, launched Defendant Free Rein and began selling ‘Free Rein’ coffee, ‘Born from the cowboy tradition,’” the lawsuit said.
“Neither Hauser nor the Defendants asked or received permission or authorization of Sheridan or Bosque Ranch to use a mark confusingly similar to the BR Brand for virtually identical goods,” it added.
this is amazing on so many levels
(Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch logo; Hauser’s Free Rein logo) https://t.co/CsNILB1NRj pic.twitter.com/NyumXoHI6d
— David Hines (@hradzka) December 7, 2023
Sheridan’s company is seeking a jury trial and is asking the court to force Free Rein to immediately stop using its logo and to destroy any of its products that currently use it.
Sheridan’s coffee company also wants “compensatory damages associated with Defendants’ past use and infringement of the BR Brand, including but not limited to Defendants’ profits and the damages sustained by Bosque Ranch as the result of Defendants’ conduct.”
Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch also wants Hauser’s Free Rein to pay its legal fees in the coming fight.
Trouble has also reportedly been brewing between “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner and Sheridan for more than a year.
Last November, Season Five of the hit show premiered on Paramount Network before it went on hiatus in January.
After reported infighting between the show’s creator and lead actor, the show delayed the release of the second half of the season — its last.
The 2023 writer’s strike pushed back the release of the show’s final season even further.
“Yellowstone” is not expected to air its final episodes until late 2024, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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