Well its what Lego themselves state, however they have taken legal action i believe against ppl making reproductions of sets they no longer sell. so it's more of a they will care more if you reproduce sets that they currently sel but do care a bit for reproduction of old pieces as they own bricklink

yesn't
Lego doesn't produce those pieces anymore so they don't care... as much... but i think they have taken action in the past against ppl making such pieces. "we believe that any original product design should be protected against copying for as long as it is produced and marketed"

eyyyyy same here, even started getting some 3d printed, resin-cast and injection moulded third-party pieces (like long lime sockets 👀)