Communication networks, and especially the Internet, have become the driving force of a revolution only comparable to the one that followed the invention of the printing press. In its short years of existence, the Internet has given wings to our natural tendency to share information.

However, still a dominant sector of society thinks that knowledge should be protected by several legal regimes commonly referred to with the term 'intellectual property'. This term suggests that knowledge can be exclusively owned and neglects the differences between tangible and intangible goods: while tangible goods have a scarcity problem, intangible goods can be copied and shared without limit and, when shared, tend to increase their total value.

A countermovement started in the 1980s with the rise of the Free Software movement and open standards, which have produced a tremendous wealth of free software applications and form the basis of the current internet. The principles behind Free Software have inspired the unrestricted sharing and reusing of artistic and cultural works in the free content movement (including Creative Commons) and the creation and use of free educational materials in the educational sector. In a similar way, the open access movement promotes the sharing and open publication of research for advancing scientific knowledge.

The Free Knowledge Institute believes that by promoting the use of free knowledge in the fields of Technology, Education, Culture and Science more individuals and organisations will profit from the benefits of sharing knowledge.