Legal analysis: If an applicant applies for a patent for an invention or utility model in a foreign country for the first time within 12 months, or applies for a patent for a design in a foreign country for the first time within six months, and applies for a patent on the same subject in China, he can enjoy the priority according to the agreement signed between the foreign country and China or the international treaties to which both countries are parties, or according to the principle of mutual recognition of priority.
an applicant who files a patent application for the invention or utility model with the administrative department for patent in the State Council for the same subject within 12 months from the date of filing the patent application for the first time in China may enjoy the priority.
Legal basis: Article 29 of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China. If an applicant files a patent application for an invention or utility model in China within 12 months from the date of first filing a patent application in a foreign country, or within 6 months from the date of first filing a patent application for a design in a foreign country, it may, in accordance with the agreement signed between the foreign country and China or the international treaties to which * * * is a party, or in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of priority.