Intellectual property law has come to govern many aspects of our daily lives. Virtually all technology we use (smartphones, computers, televisions, cars, airplanes, machines, medicines, etc.), all information we access, whether analogue or digital (books. CDS, DVDS, academic literature in electronic databases, online streaming services, etc.), aesthetic forms we see around us (the design of furniture or Coca Cola bottles), business signs and symbols are protected by IP rights. In the light of this extraordinary expansion of IP rights, it has been held that IP rights these days, firstly, tend to suffocate further innovation and, secondly, increasingly conflict with various public interests and human rights. Please write an essay of 3000-6000 words, in which you address the following matters: 1. In what way excessive IP protection may stifle further innovation (here you will have to address the rationale that underlies or should underlie IP law) (ca. 10% of answer); 2. In what way IP law tends to conflict with protected public interests and human rights (rights to health, food, education, freedom of expression. human dignity, etc.) (ca. 70% of answer); and 3. Whether IP rights should themselves be protected as human rights/under the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution (ca. 20% of answer). In your essay, you must include the South African perspective (South African problems, literature, Constitution, IP legislation, constitutional and IP case law, etc.), but are welcome and encouraged to also adopt an international perspective (discussing e.g. aspects of the TRIPS Agreement). As a starting point, consult Parts 1 and 2 of the prescribed textbook: Klopper et al. (2016), Law of Intellectual Property in South Africa (LexisNexis). Further literature will be made available on Efundi. Where possible, please have a look at the literature and case law cited in the textbook