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Actually they own anything built using their property, which includes anything designed to work with their game.
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No, the law is more complex than that. Fan-created content is a notable quagmire for IP law, because while the original IP owner has full rights to the characters, concepts etc the creator of the fan-made content also has full rights to everything they created. This is why IP owners are not legally entitled to just take and use fan-made content as they see fit, and why in the past creators of content like fanart have had to contact companies that they found unlawfully using their creation.
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Actually most end-user agreements legally forbid the extraction and modification of game assets (without which it would be extremely difficult for them to protect their IP).
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This would pertain more to extracting assets and using them outside of the original game; does it also apply to using those assets within content created with the mod creation tools Bethesda themselves released?
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They allow mods anyway, but this cuts very close to legal problems for them, because copyright can only be legally enforced if the owners take steps to protect it. This means that if you don't sue and/or send cease or desist letters in every instance of breach of copyright then you set a precedent that will prevent you from making such efforts in the future.
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This is a myth – no one has to enforce their copyright claim and you can’t lose copyright unless you willingly give it away. You are legally obliged to enforce trademarks, not copyright. Whether or not mods infringe on trademarks is another matter entirely.
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Allowing the modding community to mod their games is a liberty they allow for good customer relations and as a matter of practicality, but if someone was to profit from mods without their permission they absolutely would have to crack down on it or their copyright would become legally unenforceable and anyone could profit from their IP while they are left out of the loop. Essentially, for-profit piracy of their product would become legal.
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As above – while it would indeed be illegal for others to profit on their IP without permission, you are conflating copyright with trademark. Bethesda would not be legally obligated to pursue unless they were selling work that infringed on their trademarks.