The Department of Polish and European Industrial Property Law, led by Prof. Dr Helena Żakowska-Henzler, advances research and teaching in the area of industrial property protection, currently focussing on patent law in the field of medicine and biotechnology.

One of the roles of patent protection is to foster developments in many fields of human activity, including the natural sciences. This protection may also be a source of controversy connected with such issues as access to medicine, access to science and the effects of scientific research, benefit sharing, using traditional knowledge and many others. Currently, we are conducting research on the interactions between industrial property law and systems of fundamental rights, biosafety, the patentability of plants, animals and other kinds of biological material and access to genetic resources. Our Ph.D candidates conduct research on a broad scope of topics, from copyright law to patents.