September 30, 2008 1:37PM 

# Intellectual Property Laws and Government Security Threaten Science and Knowledge 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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If you find the title of this post provocative, you’ll be interested in a [Cato book forum](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5153) on Friday, October 10th.

In *The Crime of Reason*, Nobel laureate in physics Robert Laughlin argues that intellectual property laws and government security demands threaten the development of new knowledge. Without change, we risk bequeathing our heirs a world where knowledge is criminalized and our intellectual tradition of unfettered inquiry is lost.

Join us for a fascinating inquiry into the role of information and information rules in our society, featuring comment from Thomas Syndor of the Progress &amp; Freedom Foundation, at noon on Friday, October 10th. Luncheon to follow.

You can register for the event [here](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5153).

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy) 

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