‘Yellowstone’ co-creator mounts a legal battle over coffee trademark

“Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan and show star Cole Hauser are hashing out a legal dispute over coffee.

Sheridan’s brand, Bosque Ranch, which launched a coffee brand earlier this year, is accusing Hauser’s own coffee brand, Free Rein, of copyright infringement, according to court records obtained by The Times. The lawsuit alleges Hauser’s “FR” logo looks “confusingly similar” to Sheridan’s “BR” branding.

The complaint, filed Nov. 21 in a federal courthouse in San Angelo, Texas, seeks a jury trial and any profit made by Free Rein Coffee as well as payment for any profit losses Bosque Ranch may have suffered. The suit also demands that Hauser’s company “destroy all products, marketing, and promotional materials” with the “FR” brand on it.

In 2004, Sheridan, who also acts in “Yellowstone” as cowboy Travis Wheatley, named his entertainment production company Bosque Ranch Productions, the lawsuit said. From there, he used the name in his other business ventures.

All of his ventures bear similar branding of his “BR” logo, in which the two letters overlap. The logo appeared in several “Yellowstone” scenes. Sheridan’s production company obtained a federal copyright for the branding in 2020.

In June, Bosque Ranch launched a coffee brand, with Baton Rouge, La.-based Community Coffee, the court document said. His “BR” logo is stamped on the front of each bag of coffee beans.

Months later, in October, Hauser announced the launch of his Free Rein Coffee Co., its products bearing an “FR” logo with overlapping lettering. Around the same time, the suit alleges Hauser also applied for a federal copyright “despite Bosque Ranch’s clear prior use.”

A legal representative for Hauser did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.