In a recent claim issued in the US District Court for the Central District of California, American TV producer and show-writer Lauren J. Salkin has alleged that Yellowstone’s co-creator Taylor Sheridan has infringed copyright owned by her in the script she had created for a series named ‘Sovereign Nation’.
Salkin claims that she had submitted a pitch and written script to Sheridan under the working title ‘Sovereign Nation’, which contained themes, plot elements and concepts for characters which were allegedly used or copied for use in ‘Yellowstone’. It is alleged that Salkin’s pitch was rejected by Sheridan in 2016, only for Sheridan to use the script in what is now Paramount’s hit series ‘Yellowstone’. In particular, it is alleged that copying amounting to infringement can be inferred through a direct comparison of the respective works, which are stated to contain Salkin’s “particular expressive choices” in their “coordinated selection and arrangement”.
Salkin is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a final injunction to prevent Sheridan and co-defendants 101 Studios, Paramount and Elevate Entertainment from using works where she owns the copyright in the same. Given proceedings have only recently commenced, fans will surely follow along as further details are revealed, though whether this claim will proceed to a trial or settle beforehand is another matter that remains to be determined.
If you have any questions on the above, or if you need any advice or support in respect of your own intellectual property, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
