The latin 'res nullius' literally translates as 'nobody's thing'. The term derives from private Roman law whereby 'res' - as is usually explained - refers to an object in the legal sense, and 'nullius' signifies is not or not yet the object of rights of any specific subject.
Interestingly though, in roman legal tradition 'res" has not been understood as to "nominate an object" but rather
La res romaine n'était conçue ni comme Sache ni meme comme Gegenstand, mais plus précisément comme "affaire" (res correspondant alors au grec ta pragmata) ou comme procès (res) comportant qualification et évaluation de la chose litigieuse (res) Yan Thomas. La valeur des choses p.1449 et 1454)
It is based on this different understanding of 'res' that we can fully capture the difference between patrimonial (see Common Heritage of Mankind) and commercial things. Patrimonial means: only usage has been contested; never the question if they would turn into property and made tradable.
On se demandera en quoi cette distinction... entre le public de l'"usage" et le public de la "propriété" peut nous aider à penser le commun lui-même dans sa spécificité et son irréductibilité. Réponse : en ce que l'affectation à l'usage public est ce qui, dans le droit romain, se rapproche le plus de ce que nous comprenons pare "institution du commun". (Dardot/Laval: 267)
# Two Types of Res Nullius
It is important to distinguish two different kinds of res nullius: "res nullius" and "res nullius in bonis" (cf. Dardot/Laval, p. 264-268)
- res nullius. Such items are considered ownerless property and are free to be acquired by means of occupatio. pdf 
. So, they are supposed to enter the sphere of property relations and they ARE appropriable or considered to be appropriable.
- res nullius in bonis. That which is truly inapproprable, cf inappropriability, inalienable, in German: unverfügbar, in French: indisponible. They are beyond the sphere of appropriation FOREVER. -> So, this type of res nullius in bonis is the one we advocate for. Question: Why and on what basis "something" should be considered inappropriable forever. The answer can never lie in the thing b
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Elle est, si l'on peut dire, juridiquement immortelle. Dardot/Laval: 265
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