NCKU Tops Universities Nationwide in Domestic Invention Patent Applications for the Fourth Consecutive Year, Strengthening IP Management in Both Quality and Capacity to Build a Strong Foundation for Outstanding Technology Transfer Performance
Written by Amy Lin. Image credit to NCKU Innovation Headquarters.
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has long been committed to strengthening the protection of research outcomes, placing the enhancement of the commercial value of technologies at the core of its efforts. In intellectual property (IP) management, the university places equal emphasis on both “quality” and “capacity,” implementing a high-quality patent system that has driven patent applications along two parallel tracks—“stable capacity” and “improved quality.” As a result, the number of patent applications filed by NCKU has exceeded 100 annually for several consecutive years.
According to statistics on patent applications and granted patents for 2025 released by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs on February 26, NCKU ranked first among universities in domestic invention patent applications with 134 filings, marking the fourth consecutive year it has held the top position among universities.
Historical data on patent application rankings
According to TIPO, among the 22 universities that ranked within the top 100 for domestic invention patent applications, NCKU ranked first among universities with 134 applications for the fourth consecutive year. In the ranking based on the combined total of the three types of patents—invention, utility model, and design—NCKU also ranked first nationwide with a total of 154 applications.
NCKU has demonstrated outstanding performance in intellectual property management. Over the past six years, the university has filed more than 100 patent applications annually, making it the only university among the top 100 to achieve this milestone for six consecutive years. The university has accumulated a total of 715 applications and has ranked first among universities five times. NCKU places significant importance on both the quality and capacity of patents. Since 2016, the university has introduced a High-Quality Patent Program, upgrading it from version 1.0 to 2.0. This initiative has gradually established a comprehensive patent strategy spanning from the initial stages of research and development to the production of outcomes, forming a crucial foundation for its consistently leading technology transfer performance.
High-Quality Patent 1.0 focuses on evaluating the commercialization potential of research outcomes after they are produced. Through precise alignment with unresolved industry challenges and strategic patent positioning, it enhances both the strength of technological protection and market value. High-Quality Patent 2.0 moves the patent strategy forward to the research topic selection stage, first breaking down the future development pathways of technologies and products. By integrating analyses of industry trends and market demand, it identifies technologies with high commercial potential for research investment, ensuring from the outset that research outcomes are market-oriented and possess strong application value.
NCKU demonstrates strong research and development capacity, with domestic invention patent applications exceeding 100 annually for many years and ranking first among universities for four consecutive years.
High-Quality Patent 1.0 and 2.0 are designed to complement each other, forming a comprehensive mechanism of “strategic patent planning beginning at the research topic selection stage, followed by further optimization after research outcomes are produced.” Under this framework, patents serve not only as instruments of legal protection but also as important strategic tools that support technology commercialization and industry collaboration. Through forward-looking research topic selection and precise patent positioning, both the quality of patents and their connection to market needs have been significantly enhanced. This further strengthens the exclusivity of technologies and their market bargaining power, naturally increasing companies’ willingness to collaborate and the success rate of licensing.
At the same time, a well-developed and strategically structured patent portfolio also forms the core foundation of NCKU’s outstanding technology transfer performance, enabling research outcomes to continuously generate industrial value. NCKU’s technology transfer contract revenue has exceeded NT$100 million annually for 17 consecutive years since 2009, with an average of NT$265 million over the past decade. This demonstrates that NCKU has established a mature mechanism for commercializing research outcomes and has earned strong trust in the market. These achievements also indicate that NCKU holds a clear leading advantage in technology commercialization, the depth of corporate collaboration, and alignment with market demand. The research topic selection strategies and intellectual property positioning established through the High-Quality Patent Program have successfully been transformed into quantifiable industrial benefits.
NCKU has long been committed to intellectual property management, strengthening the protection of research outcomes to enhance the commercial value of its technologies.
Provider:
NCKU News Center
Date:
2026-03-10
