Independent journalist and contributor, Down To Earth. Her concerns relate to the way power structures in society - business corporations, governments and lobbies - impact the lives of the powerless.
Tricky issue of policing the Internet
Instead of bans, regulations may be a better way of dealing with the downside of digital technology
New ruse in Big Pharma's old game
Drug multinationals are lobbying for a devious patent linkage system to block the entry of competitive generics
Monsanto's troublesome trait
Bayer is battling seed companies and farmers in several countries over royalty on Monsanto's GM seeds
US sound and fury over drug prices
The US Senate is outraged by the rapacious pricing policy of drug firms but will it act to reform the system?
Bedaquiline and India's patent law
Opposition to the new patent claims on the Johnson & Johnson drug is a test of how well the rules against evergreening are working
Software outsmarts drug research
Now, a programme can bypass patented drug pathways and create synthetically-produced medicines
Patent Prosecution Highway: The fast track to disaster
India's decision to start one for Japanese firms could open the tollgates to hasty approvals
No worries? Ask Simba
A furore over Disney's trademark on the Swahili phrase Hakuna Matata heats up the cultural appropriation debate
When judges copy
Should the rules on plagiarism matter as much as the independent analysis made by judges in adjudicating cases?
You can be sued for your social media posts
Copyright issues related to social media posts are a concern as platforms are shutting down accounts without notice
Beware of Japan's trade ambitions
Japan is pushing for higher levels of intellectual property protection that will cut access to affordable medicines
This is how rich nations protect profits of multinational pharma firms
When rich nations insist on patent linkage provisions in bilateral and regional trade pacts, there is a way out
The zero budget farming discord
There is unease over the crusader of natural farming, Subhash Palekar, for renaming the technique after himself
Can activism check Big Pharma’s profit motives?
As prices of life-saving drugs skyrocket, people from diverse fields are getting together to fight Big Pharma
US trading on thin ice
As Trump escalates the trade war with China, the key question is what constitutes theft of intellectual property
Clearing the smoke on packaging
WTO rules that Australian laws on tobacco packaging don't violate global obligations to protect intellectual property
Outsourcing patent functions
WIPO begins talks on controversial proposal to allow countries to outsource their patent examination processes to another country
Evergreening rampant in India
India's patent office has ignored the strict safeguards against evergreening and allowed a flood of secondary drug patents
Patanjali doesn't want to share benefits of centuries-old medicine system
Ramdev's corporate behemoth Patanjali's claim that Indian firms do not have to share benefits for using bio resources is troubling
The Chinese patent juggernaut
China has toppled Japan from No 2 spot and is set to become the leader in global patent filings, specially in future technologies
The sheer folly of Indian GIs
States are competing to pile up Geographical Indication tags without studying the benefit to producers
A pirate loved by academics
Alexandra Elbakyan's Sci-Hub is putting up a spirited fight against publishers who shackle science behind high cost paywalls
No sharing or you'll be sued
For distributing a subscription trade newsletter among its staff, a US firm is fined heavily for copyright violations
Elon Musk's patent ambiguities
Electric carmaker Tesla has patented a battery-swapping system. Does this mean a reversal of its open source philosophy?
Hypocrisy of the west
A legitimate tool to meet any public health crisis, rich countries, particularly the US, have resolutely opposed its deployment by developing …