Yellowstone Copied? Writer Alleges 2016 Pitch Infringement
Writers Lauren J. Salkin has filed a copyright lawsuit accusing Taylor Sheridan and the producers of using her 2016 Western pitch Sovereign Nation to develop Yellowstone. The suit alleges copied elements such as a tribal casino central to political power, land-development schemes, and long lease structures, and says Sheridan’s team rejected her pitch in 2016 but Yellowstone was greenlit soon after, premiering on Paramount Network in 2018. Representatives for the defendants have not commented publicly.