Sure, but you've probably seen soap operas with less complicated relationships.
Back in the 80s, several mecha anime are produced in Japan: Macross (this one as a joint project by Studio Nue, Big West and Tatsunoko, this is IMPORTANT), Mospeada, Southern Cross, Crusher Joe and Dougram. As common for this sort of thing there, they have model kit and toy tie-ins.
Twentieth Century Imports, a US-based importer of Japanese toys, licenses the rights to those model kits and the associated artwork.
When FASA first produces Battletech - in its' original incarnation as Battledroids - they license designs and kits from TCI, specifically ones related to Dougram, Macross and Crusher Joe, about a dozen mechs total.
One of the Macross toys - VF1S Super Valkyrie - is licensed to Hasbro and is used as one of the G1 Transformers, Jetfire (this becomes relevant later on). When Hasbro's license lapses, the design is replaced with a different one.
At about the same time, Harmony Gold licenses rights to Macross, Mospeada and Southern Cross from Tatsunoko, then recuts and redubs them into what the western audiences know as Robotech.
Tatsunoko's license grants Harmony Gold fairly broad rights to the series... broad enough to register international trademark on Macross and squat the franchise globally for the next few decades - which Harmony Gold of course does. A few products manage to slip by (such as Macross Plus) in the mid 90s, but eventually Harmony Gold's grip tightens and the west does not see any official Macross sequel for next two decades
By mid-90s, FASA has a successful line of Battletech-related products, aiming to expand into actual toys. They approach Playmates, who is producing a line of mecha toys tied to the Exosquad cartoon and is in talks with Harmony Gold about producing Robotech tie-ins.
FASA's negotiations with Playmates break down. Playmates publishes a preview of an Exosquad toy - Heavy Attack E-Frame - that looks like a copy of Mad Cat/ Timber Wolf, a FASA-original mech.
FASA sues Playmates, but loses the case due to "numerous design differences" resulting in Playmates' product bering ruled just barely defensible. Playmates never actually produces the toy in question in the end.
This debacle gets Harmony Gold's attention, and they sue FASA over their use of Macross designs. Having sustained heavy financial setbacks due to legal costs from the Playmates lawsuit, FASA opts to settle and removes all of the previously licensed third party designs from their product line. These designs are collectively known as the Unseen.
At the end of the 90s, FASA sells the rights to the Battletech franchise to WizKids, who produce a "Clix" game called Mechwarrior: Dark Age while licensing FanPro to continue the Battletech line, now redubbed "Classic Battletech".
In early 2000s the two financers of Macross' production - Big West and Studio Nue - are suing each other over the rights to it. Big West is ruled to own the rights to 41 character and mecha designs (which includes all the designs Harmony Gold sued FASA over way back).
In the US, Harmony Gold insists that the Japanese court ruling does not affect their license. Over the next few years, they're also getting a bit sue-happy and go after several companies who try to internationally sell imported Macross toys.
At roughly the same time, FanPro releases Technical Readout: Project Phoenix, containing drastic redesigns of the Unseen mechs. These designs tend to be, to put it mildly, butt-ugly and do not find much traction in the fanbase.
In 2009, the first iteration of Mechwarrior 5 is in the works - while eventually it fails to materialize, a trailer is released containing a replica of one of the original Unseen designs - the Warhammer . Harmony Gold takes notice and issues cease-and-desists against several sites hosting the trailer.
In 2012, Piranha Games and Infinite Games Publishing release Mechwarrior Online, a Free-to-Play first person shooter set in the Battletech universe. Infinite Games Publishing's monetization model is rather cynical, to say the least.
In 2013, Hasbro releases a limited "G.I.-JOE vs Transformers" toy set containing a non-transformable jet with similar attachments and paintjob as the jet form of the original Jetfire although using a different base aircraft.
This lawsuit was eventually settled out of court - while we don't know the terms of the settlement, Hasbro resumed sales of the set.
The same year, Piranha Games attempts to license the rights to Macross designs from Harmony Gold - who at this point still claim to have permanent exclusive rights to them - but are refused. Piranha releases a Project Phoenix mech pack containing a number of non-Macross Unseen redesigned by their art team to match MWO's art style (and conveniently sidestep any potential legal issues). The designs are mostly still recognizable as what they were supposed to replace and rather positively received as a result.
In 2014, Infinite Games Publishing goes bankrupt, to the tune of around 20 million US dollars' worth of debts. Piranha buys out IGP's interest in Mechwarrior Online and becomes independent.
In 2015, In Medias Res - who now hold the license for Battletech products, having obtained it after WizKids was acquired by Topps, and use it under their Catalyst Game Labs imprint - decides to take another stab at redesigning the Unseen. These "Nuseen" look quite similar to the originals but still include enough differences as to be legally distinct. Or so the company hopes.
Piranha starts releasing mech packs containing their takes on Macross Unseen. Much like their Project Phoenix pack, the mechs' original roots are recognizable and thus positively received by the fanbase despite a number of design differences that in theory should make them legally distinct.
Harebrained Schemes, founded by one of Battletech's original creators, launches a Kickstarter campaign for a turn-based tactics game that adapts the franchise (it's important to note that only one of the franchise's official video game tie-ins had been turn-based, and that was in 1987 and pretty poorly executed over all). The campaign is wildly succesful, overshooting all Kickstarter goals. Harebrained opts to not produce their own mech models, but instead license the ones created by Piranha for Mechwarrior Online.
Cut to 2017.
Harmony Gold sues Piranha and In Medias Res over their renditions of the Macross Unseen, as well as Harebrained Schemes for several other mechs they claim to be also infringing on "their" rights.
A few months later, Harmony Gold enters into a dispute with Tatsunoko. Among other things, Tatsunoko is of the opinion Harmony Gold has been shafting them on royalty payments. Per their contract, the dispute goes to arbitration.
The arbitrator's ruling contains several interesting points, the relevant one being that Tatsunoko never had the rights to the 41 character and mecha designs held by Big West and therefore could not have licensed them to Harmony Gold - something their 2003 license agreement alluded to but never stated openly.
In Medias Res fails to answer the lawsuit and has a default judgement entered against them.
Piranha Games uses the arbitration ruling as a basis to question Harmony Gold's legal standing to file the case in the first place and issue a motion for Summary Judgement against Harmony Gold on that basis.
The motion is dismissed without prejudice (meaning it can be refiled) when Harmony Gold attempts to amend its' complaint with slightly different wording - which now accuses all allegedly infringing designs to be "unlawful copies" instead of "unlicensed derivatives"
In 2018 (we are HERE), Harmony Gold voluntarily drops all claims against Harebrained and its' founder.
Harmony Gold also attempts to use its' own prior use of the designs - and attempts to prosecute third parties over their use - as proof of ownership, producing a number of statements and testimonies to that effect... but no documented proof to the actual extent of rights they claim to have licensed.
Piranha files a second Motion For Summary Judgement, which is due to be reviewed sometime soon (possibly this week). Harmony Gold files for a letter of request to Japanese courts to demand Big West(!) to turn over any and all documents relating to license grants to Tatsunoko and/or Harmony Gold. This process can take up to a year, and due to how it functions Big West cannot be forced to comply - they can just as well respond with 黙殺 (mokusatsu, look it up). This request is still to be ruled on as well and has been opposed by Piranha citing it as a "fishing expedition" (Piranha's lawyers are so savage, I'd swear they own a license to kill with contemptuous sarcasm).
