Political cost
It doesn't matter if it's on the Internet or not, what matters is patent trolls and legislation. In a world that can conceive two mobile phone companies shelling out in a billion-dollar lawsuit for the use of a rounded-edge rectangle, I don't think it's a huge leap to envisage a technology that will benefit mankind but is kept artificially expensive/unimplemented. In some ways there are parallels that could be drawn with the pharmaceutical industry too.
I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but I can't see any viable technology being implemented which will dilute political and financial strongholds.
