The Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, filed 476 patent applications in 2019, ranking first among scientific research institutions in Zhejiang province, according to local media reports.

The figure accounted for 13 percent of the province's total patent application filings last year.

Meanwhile, Ningbo Huamei Hospital of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, placed fourth with 151 patent applications.

Data released by the State Intellectual Property Office show that a total of 294 patents, including 254 invention patents applied for by the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, were approved in 2019, accounting for about a quarter of the invention patents acquired by scientific research institutions in the province.

Two of the institute's invention patents won the China Patent Excellence Award. 

The strong results are closely related to the institute's improved management system. 

Last year, the institute became the first scientific research institution in Zhejiang to meet the national standards for intellectual property management for scientific research organizations.

It has greatly shortened the time required for patent applications, promoted the standardization of intellectual property management, and provided guarantees for the industrialization of follow-up research results, said a staffer at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering.

By the end of last year, the institute had applied for more than 4,000 patents. Among them, 1,800 were granted, including 60 software copyrights and 38 international patents.

The Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, the first State-owned research institute in Zhejiang, was co-founded in 2004 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Zhejiang Provincial People's Government and the Ningbo Municipal People's Government.

The Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, leads scientific research institutions in Zhejiang province with 476 patent applications in 2019. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]