Legal analysis: 1. Definition difference: the collective name of patent owner and holder. That is, when the patent application is approved, the patent applicant is granted the patent right. The patentee can be a unit or an individual. An inventor in a patent for invention or a patent for utility model is called an inventor if he contributes to the specific substantive features of the invention. The inventor is a natural person; 2. From the perspective of rights, the rights of the patentee include the personal rights of the patent and the property rights of the patent. The inventor's rights include the right of signature, and the inventor may request the patent office not to publish his name; 3. Different characteristics: patent inventors only have the right of reputation, not property rights, which can only be changed and cannot be transferred. Patent applicants or patentees can be individuals or units, and property rights can be transferred. The applicant before the patent is not authorized is called the patent applicant, and the patentee after the patent is authorized. Only those who have the right to apply (including natural persons and legal persons) are patentees and have patent rights.
Legal basis: Article 17 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), if a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization that has no habitual residence or business office in China applies for a patent in China, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement signed between the country to which it belongs and China or the international treaties to which it is a party, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.