‘Yellowstone' creator Taylor Sheridan's ranch is suing Cole Hauser's coffee brand
FILE - (Left) Taylor Sheridan speaks onstage during Day 3 of the 2023 Stagecoach Festival on April 30, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Stagecoach) (Right) Cole Hauser attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards a
SAN ANGELO, Texas - A ranch owned by the co-creator of "Yellowstone" is suing a coffee brand owned by one of the show’s stars, according to court documents.
Bosque Ranch, which is owned by the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan, is suing Free Rein Coffee Company, which was launched in October by actor Cole Hauser – who plays fan-favorite Rip Wheeler on the popular Western drama series.
The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 21 by the ranch against Free Rein in the Northern District of Texas’ federal court in San Angelo for trademark infringement, court documents show.
A complaint in the filing accused Free Rein of using a brand logo "confusingly similar to the (Bosque Ranch) brand for virtually identical goods."
The lawsuit references the logos used by both the caffeine company and the ranch, each with the letters intertwining.
The Bosque Ranch and Free Reign Coffee Company brand marks are shown in images in the lawsuit filed on Nov. 21, 2023, in the Northern District of Texas’ federal court in San Angelo. (Credit: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, San
Hauser, 48, launched the company on Oct. 11 with friends Karl Pfluger, Aron Marquez, and Paul Anderson. In announcing the new brand, Free Rein said it "draws its spirit from the open promise of the American Dream, paying tribute to the hard-working cowboys that he grew up around on and off set."
The Free Rein team purchased a small-batch roasting facility in San Angelo, Texas, in 2022, the company said.
"With the heart of the West as its foundation, Free Rein is uniquely built with the hardworking cowboy tradition in mind," the company said.
For its part, the Bosque Ranch – located in Weatherford, Texas – has been used as a filming location for both "Yellowstone" and its prequel "1883." In the lawsuit, the ranch notes how it collaborated with Community Coffee Company in early 2023 to similarly launch a "Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee."
"Yellowstone," which also stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, and Kelly Reilly, debuted in 2018 and has been a phenomenon for Paramount Network.
The contemporary Western drama follows the Duttons, a wealthy family in Montana that owns the largest ranch in the United States. Its patriarch is John Dutton III, played by Costner.
The long-awaited fifth and final season — featuring Costner’s final episodes — was originally scheduled to return in November but delayed until November 2024. Paramount said production was delayed by this year’s strikes by actors and screenwriters.
The first half of the fifth season debuted in November 2022.
Paramount also announced two spin-offs, a prequel tentatively called "1944" and a sequel to the current series, called "2024."
This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.