From code war to Cold War (BBC)

From code war to Cold War (BBC)

It might be strange at first reading but it sure is a different
suggestion which merits to be discussed.

I believe that such a regulation should not apply to all software,
neither at every stage of development of certain software. However,
some widely used software, like Unix, could end up becoming a common
good, after passing through a long and very diverse evolutionary
process. Why not? Such software tends to acquire even a social
responsibility and it might make sense to regulate it in some
way. Wouldn't this amount to be a disappropriation of some key
"intellectual property"?

I think that the real big question is "How could such a regulation be
made in order to be effective without hindering the abundant
development of innovative software" To do this one would need some kind
of social consensus but I am afraid that at the moment our society is
quite far from that.