September 3, 2009 - Earlier today, IGN and its parent company were issued a cease and desist order from Harmony Gold, the co-copyright owner of the television series Robotech. The letter claims that the use of certain trademarked figures from the Robotech/Macross universe, of which MechWarrior 5 is a part of, is prohibited as a result of a prior settlement that dates back to 1996. Apparently, some of those trademarked figures appear in the trailer used by Pirahna Games in its announcement of the MechWarrior reboot earlier this year, and a request has been made for that trailer to be pulled from IGN.
This development puts the future of MechWarrior in jeopardy. A trademark dispute could derail the game's development. On the flip side, it could also simply result in specific characters, logos, or other trademarked material from being included in the final product.
IGN has contacted Piranha Games and Harmony Gold for further clarification.
P.S. I have also contacted Piranha Games as well as a couple other sources and if I hear anything, you will know first.