Open Knowledge is a term used to denote a set of principles and methodologies related to the production and distribution of knowledge works in an open manner. Knowledge is interpreted broadly to include:
As set out in the Open Knowledge Definition, knowledge is open if "one is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it without legal, social or technological restriction."
In this sense Open Knowledge can be seen as being a superset of Open Data, Open Content, Open Access with the aim of highlighting the commonalities between these different groups. The concept is also heavily related to Open Source, with many concepts and processes directly borrowed (or 'ported') from previous work on Open Source (for example the Open Knowledge Definition is directly derived from the Open Source Definition).
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Similarly to other 'open' concepts such as Open Data and Open Content, though the term is rather new, the concept is old. For example, one of the earliest printed texts of which we have record is a copy of the Buddhist Diamond sutra produced in China around 868AD, and in it can be found the dedication: "for universal free distribution".[1]