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“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and star Cole Hauser may soon be at loggerheads in court over a brewing legal battle.
On Nov. 21, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch in the Northern District of Texas filed a lawsuit against Hauser’s coffee company Free Rein for “trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising,” according to court documents obtained by FOX Business.
Earlier this year, Bosque Ranch, the brand that operates a number of Sheridan’s stores and personal ventures, teamed up with coffee company Community Coffee to create the Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee brand. The collaboration, billed as a “reflection of the cowboy lifestyle,” was officially announced in June.
The lawsuit alleged that Free Rein, which was launched by Hauser in October, “uses a trademark that is strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark and has the potential to mislead consumers.”
“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch is suing star-Cole Hauser’s Free Rein coffee company. (Getty/Getty Images)
The documents noted that both marks used two overlapping letters. Bosque Ranch’s trademark overlapped the letters “B” and “R,” while the trademark used by Free Rein overlapped the letters “F” and “R.”
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“A little more than 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 documents say.
The lawsuit continues: “Neither Hauser nor Defendants requested or received permission or approval from Sheridan or Bosque Ranch to use a mark confusingly similar to the BR mark for virtually identical goods.”
According to the documents, Bosque Ranch is seeking a jury trial. Sheridan’s company is asking the court to permanently ban Free Rein from using the mark and to destroy all products, marketing and advertising materials bearing the mark.
The lawsuit alleged that Free Rein, which was launched in October by Cole Hauser, “uses a trademark that is strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark and has the potential to mislead consumers.” (Lawsuit between Bosque Ranch and Free Rein / Fox News)
In addition, Bosque Ranch seeks “damages related to Defendants’ prior use and infringement of the BR Mark, including, but not limited to, Defendants’ profits and damages caused to Bosque Ranch by Defendants’ conduct.”
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Bosque Ranch also requests an award of “the costs and interim interest incurred herein” and “such further and/or alternative relief as the Court may deem appropriate.”
Representatives for Bosque Ranch and Free Rein did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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In October, Hauser discussed the launch of Free Rein in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“I’ve been around cowboys my whole life, I grew up on a ranch in Oregon and now I’m working with cowboys on ‘Yellowstone,'” he said. “Whether they are the hard-working Wranglers on or off set, they are the first to rise and one thing is certain: they will have a cup of coffee in their hand before dawn.”
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Hauser shared that a normal day for him can include up to five cups of coffee.
“Plus, I’m always on the go, and you can imagine that I get to try out a lot of new types of coffee all over the country and around the world,” he added. “So if my [business] Partner Karl sent me a bag of coffee from a family-run roastery in San Angelo, Texas – cowboy country – I was thrilled.”