- Bosque Ranch, founded by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, has filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas against Cole Hauser's coffee company Free Rein.
- The lawsuit (via San Angelo Live) claims Free Rein engages in “false advertising” and “unfair competition”
- Bosque Ranch claims Free Rein uses “a mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch's registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers”
As fans wait for the second half of Yellowstone's final season to debut next year, legal drama has begun between the show's creator and one of its stars.
Bosque Ranch, founded by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, has filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas against Free Rein, the coffee company of Yellowstone star Cole Hauser.
The trademark infringement lawsuit, filed on November 21 (via San Angelo Live) claims Free Rein of 'unfair competition and false advertising.'
Bosque Ranch claims that Free Rein uses “a mark that is strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch's registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers.”
Bosque Ranch's mark contains the letters B and R as a cattle brand, while Free Rein similarly contains the letters F and R.
Creator: As fans wait for the second half of Yellowstone's final season to debut next year, legal drama has begun between the show's creator and one of its stars
Brand Mark: Bosque Ranch claims that Free Rein uses “a mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch's registered trademark, which may mislead consumers”
Similar: Bosque Ranch's mark contains the letters B and R as a cattle brand, while Free Rein similarly contains the letters F and R (seen on Hauser's shirt)
The lawsuit alleges that Bosque Ranch has used the intertwined mark B/R since 2004 and secured federal registrations in 2020.
Bosque Ranch launched its Craft Coffee brand in June, with Hauser rebranding Longhorn Coffee, based in San Angelo, Texas, as Free Rein in August.
The company launched its first coffee brands with the F/R logo in October, which Bosque claims Free Rein did without their permission.
The lawsuit claims that the two similar brands will cause “consumer confusion” as both Sheridan and Hauser are affiliated with Yellowstone and both actively promote their brands.
Bosque Ranch seeks “permanent injunctive relief, damages, and profits from Defendants under both the Lanham Act and Texas law for the alleged infringement.”
Hauser plays Rip Wheeler in Paramount Network's Yellowstone , who has been a regular on the show since its debut in 2018.
Rip Wheeler is a ranch hand at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, run by Kevin Costner's character John Dutton.
He is also married to Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), John and the only daughter of the late Evelyn Dutton (Gretchen Mol) on the show.
Cole as Rip: Hauser plays Rip Wheeler in Paramount Network's Yellowstone, who has been a regular on the show since its debut in 2018
News of the lawsuit comes just over a month after Paramount confirmed that the show's final episodes will debut in November 2024.
This comes just months after it was reported that the 68-year-old lead actor would be leaving the series in the first half of season 5.
The studio also softened the blow for fans of Yellowstone, which saw its popularity skyrocket after episodes aired on CBS.
The network announced two spinoff series, one titled 1944 and the other is a contemporary series currently titled 2024.