Lauren J. Salkin Sues Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Over 2018 Yellowstone Copyright Claims
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 23
Lauren J. Salkin Sues Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Over 2018 Yellowstone Copyright Claims
3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 23
Summary
Friday’s federal complaint in California accuses Taylor Sheridan, Paramount, NBCUniversal and Elevate Entertainment of copying Lauren J. Salkin’s long-developed TV project, “Sovereign Nation,” into “Yellowstone.”
Salkin says she sent a pilot, show bible and pitch deck to Sheridan’s management in late 2016 and early 2017, got a Feb. 1, 2017 reply that he was unavailable for TV, and saw Paramount greenlight “Yellowstone” months later.
The suit points to alleged overlaps in protected expression, including a tribal casino as a political power center, a casino-office confrontation over expansion, trust-land and 99-year lease mechanics, and recurring master-plan imagery.
Salkin says the Kevin Costner-led franchise has generated billions of dollars while she received nothing, and she is seeking damages, disgorgement of profits and an injunction against future infringement.
Representatives for Sheridan, Paramount, Elevate and NBCUniversal had not responded to requests for comment; the case now tests whether the cited similarities go beyond unprotected Western and land-dispute themes.