Legal
Publishing mods through the Steam Workshop and selling them through Tebex places 57 Studios™ at the intersection of several distinct legal frameworks: United States copyright law, Steam's platform policies, Smartly Dressed Games' modding permissions, and Tebex's commerce terms. This section of the 57 Studios™ knowledge base documents how those frameworks interact, what obligations they create for mod publishers, and how to respond when disputes arise.
The seven articles in this section cover the full legal pipeline for Unturned™ mod publishing — from the moment a takedown notice arrives to the long-term question of how to structure a modding business that remains in good standing with all stakeholders.
Section contents
- How the Steam DMCA Process Works — 17 USC § 512 elements, Valve's role as service provider, counter-notification flow, what happens to subscribers, restoration timelines, and what 57 Studios has documented from its own publisher experience.
- Asset Licensing and Attribution — what licenses cover stock assets, sound libraries, and textures used in mods; how to document attribution correctly; what "royalty-free" actually permits in a Tebex context.
- Derivative Works and Unturned Modding — how copyright law defines a derivative work, what the Unturned modding permission grants and withholds, and how to stay within it.
- Smartly Dressed Games Modding Policy — the official SDG permission grant, its conditions, what requires separate approval, and how to request it.
- Tebex Commerce Terms for Mod Sellers — what Tebex requires of sellers, chargebacks, prohibited content categories, and how to structure a Tebex storefront that remains in good standing.
- Trademark and Brand Use — how 57 Studios protects its own brand, how to reference Unturned™ and Steam® without infringing, and what nominative fair use covers.
- Reverse Engineering and Decompilation Limits — what the law permits and prohibits when working around or inspecting game assets, and why certain modding approaches carry legal risk.