As content creators, no matter if we're talking assets, maps, mod or anything else, we put alot of time into the things we make and share it with our fellow gamers. But what sort of rights do we have over our creations once they're shared on the workshop? And what to do if someone posts our creation as their own? That's what I'll cover in this guide. :)

I'm not a lawyer - all I have is a decent understanding of English and some experience with how Valve handles stolen creations on the workshop. And I'd like to help other creators, who see their creations passed off as someone elses. I only have experience with creations, which are 100% mine and aren't based on any trademarks - I can't say how Valve handles derivative work or creations using trademarks such as Shell or Wallmart.

So what sort of rights do you have when you've uploaded something to the Workshop? Actually more than you might think! ;) Everything in this guide comes from the Steam Subscriber Agreement as it stands the 20th of Marts 2017 - I'll try to keep it up to date as best as I can. :)

Ofc you've read the agreement - we all have! But it's a legal document with all the 3 lines long sentences and legal wordings most of us aren't used to. ;) I'll grab some parts of it here, which are relevant to content we upload to the workshop and try and explain it in simpler terms. Most of it is about the rights Valve have and what we can expect from them, but some of it also protects us from others stealing our work.

6. USER GENERATED CONTENT
D. Representations and Warranties

You represent and warrant to us that you have sufficient rights in all User Generated Content to grant Valve and other affected parties the licenses described under A. and B. above or in any license terms specific to the applicable Workshop-Enabled App or Workshop page. This includes, without limitation, any kind of intellectual property rights or other proprietary or personal rights affected by or included in the User Generated Content. In particular, with respect to Workshop Contributions, you represent and warrant that the Workshop Contribution was originally created by you (or, with respect to a Workshop Contribution to which others contributed besides you, by you and the other contributors, and in such case that you have the right to submit such Workshop Contribution on behalf of those other contributors).

I underlined the important sentence there. Because we pass on a bunch of rights to Valve (described in 6.A. and 6.B.), we need to have the rights to do that. Just like we can't sell someone elses things, we can't give Valve rights to something, we actually don't have the rights to ourselves. This is what enables you to report the item in question to Valve and have it taken down (if that's what you want ofc).

So someone has uploaded your creation to the workshop without your permission and without giving you credit - well, that sucks! You can ofc try and comment on the item and ask the person to take it down, but often times those comments just get deleted. So how do you report it?

First up you want to find the little flag under the pictures and above the "Subscribe" button.



A little window pops up, but this isn't it. You'll want the link highlighted in the picture below.



Another window pops up and this is what you want.

I'll take you through how I usually fill this out and what kind of proof I provide.

1. Identify Content
"Please describe the specific content on Valve’s systems you say is infringing"
In the first box I usually describe the item in question, which in my example here is a stack of containers. Since it doesn't have any decorative props or trees it's pretty easy here, but for buildings it's worth pointing out what we're talking about. :)

"Identify the copyrighted work that you claim is being infringed"
Here I include a link to my creation and an image of the original files along the lines of this one:



As you can see I make sure the folder shows the date created. I usually say something along the lines of this:

This is my original creation uploaded the DATE from on this Steam account. I've included a screenshot of the original files along with their creation date, which all preceed the upload date of the item in question.

2. Your Contact Information
This is - you guessed it - all your contant information. It's important for this to be correct ofc and the same as your Steam account info (which isn't a problem if you keep your personal info up to date). In my experience the only thing Valve use of this is the email you provide, which is where they send you a response on the case.

3. Authorization & Signature
Of the first two pick the one that applies to you (usually the first unless you're reporting something on behalf of someone else). Tick the rest of the boxes, "Sign" your name and prove you're human. ;)

Hit "Submit" and you're done. It usually takes a few days before you hear anything - for me it's been 2-4 days in most cases. When I've provided the proof listed above Valve have taken down the item in question and that's been the end of it (since the other person has had no proof that my creation was actually theirs).

That's it. I hope this guide was helpful to you. And remember you can always put in the description of your items how they're allowed to be shared if you're fine with that - or that they aren't allowed to be posted on any other account. :)

I personally like to keep some control over what happens to my creations, but I'm not opposed to sharing some of my work. To me there's a huge difference between someone asking for permission for an idea they have and someone just changing a few trees or some stats and not mentioning where the asset actually came from.