I'm not entirely sure of the exact legalities but I have some experience working cube-sats and have some insights on this.
Since Low Earth Orbit is getting kinda crowded you now have to ensure that your satellite deorbits within 5 years of deployment. So that 5 year figure does limit the satellites lifespan. Quite significantly sometimes because you have to ensure that even if the satellite is dead on arrival it deorbits within those five years.
I bet all of these restrictions can be alleviated to some extent if you're a super rich dickhead but that's how it is for us.
I'm not entirely sure of the exact legalities but I have some experience working cube-sats and have some insights on this. Since Low Earth Orbit is getting kinda crowded you now have to ensure that your satellite deorbits within 5 years of deployment. So that 5 year figure does limit the satellites lifespan. Quite significantly sometimes because you have to ensure that even if the satellite is dead on arrival it deorbits within those five years.
I bet all of these restrictions can be alleviated to some extent if you're a super rich dickhead but that's how it is for us.