Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Anhui province saw a record high in filing international patent applications via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2018, according to the Hefei Science and Technology Bureau.

The zone's patent applications amounted to 103 with 76 newly submitted in 2018, up 285 percent over the previous year, accounting for 51 percent of Hefei's total and 35 percent of Anhui's total respectively.

With strong policy support, the zone provides a one-time subsidy of up to 80,000 yuan ($11,842) to enterprises for every foreign patent application they submit via PCT, and the maximum amount of subsidies for every enterprise can reach one million yuan.

In addition, service agencies that facilitate more than 20 foreign patents applications (limited to Europe, America and Japan) via PCT and help over 30 percent of applications meet the national standard will be given a one-time reward of 300,000 yuan.

In order to encourage more applications, more than 20 training sessions were held in 2018 for innovative companies such as exporters and listed enterprises to apply for international patents.

Outstanding institutes set for intellectual property protection will also be honored for creating a favorable environment by providing supporting services.