Reposting Jobs from Other Job Boards - Copyright Infringement?

Question

Would reposting or linking to job ads on current corporate and job board sites constitute copyright infringement? Are there any loopholes? I'm not charging for access to my site's content. Thanks!

Answer 1

As a general matter, copyrightable aspects of a job website will be protectable by copyright.  Your question is whether the job ad itself is protectable.  The answer is maybe.  If the creator of the job ad includes any copyrightable aspects, then those aspects will be protectable under copyright.  

I don't think most job ads are purely facts, as you suggest.  For example, many job ads include text.  And even if facts are included, there is certainly an arrangement and organization of those facts within the ad itself.

Also, your understanding of fair use is flawed.  Fair use is not invoked if you are copying facts since facts are not protectable.  Fair use a defense to copyright infringement.  That is, fair use is only invoked AFTER you have committed/admitted to copyrighted infringement.  Further, a determination of fair use requires an analysis involving a four-factor test.

Also, slightly changing a copyrightable work is still copyright infringement in most cases.  This is known as creating a derivative work.

I'm not aware of any "loopholes" per se. There are couple of common ways to avoid copyright infringement.  The first is to copy non-copyrighted work.  The second is to ask for permission.