In recent months, there has been growing interest in the area of open source software (OSS) and free software (FS) as an alternative management and economic model. However, the success of the OSS mindshare and collaborative online experience has wider implications to many other fields of human endeavour than the mere licensing of computer programmes. The OSS philosophy is prompting a paradigm shift in the way in which small businesses, individual researchers, educational organisations and public institutions disseminate information. There are a growing number of institutions interested in using OSS licensing schemes to distribute creative works, scientific research and even to publish online journals.