But isn't the data stored on LinkedIn's servers technically owned by LinkedIn? I support this decision in the interest of innovation but hiQ is using data that is physically on LinkedIn's systems and which has been legally acquired by LinkedIn from its users. The term "public data" is a very broad definition and needs to be well defined.
If you serve that data to a client by a simple HTTP request it's publicly accessible. My guess would be that they could claim copyright over all material published on LinkedIn, which they probably do, however the fair use of that copyright would be the question.
