The principle of priority is one of the principles of patent application. Including foreign priority and domestic priority. The main content of the right of priority is that the applicant shall apply within twelve months from the date when the applicant first files a patent application in a foreign country for an invention or utility model, or within six months from the date when the applicant first files a patent application for a design in a foreign country. , and files a patent application for the same subject in China, it may enjoy priority in accordance with the agreement signed by the foreign country with China or the international treaty to which both countries are parties, or in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of priority. If the applicant files another patent application for the same subject with the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within twelve months from the date of first filing a patent application for an invention or utility model in China, the applicant may enjoy priority. The former is foreign priority, and the latter is domestic priority. The two are different in terms of applicable patent types and application locations. For example, if A applies for a patent for an invention in the United States on October 31, 2006, and then files a patent application for the same subject in China on October 20, 2007, in accordance with the agreement signed between the United States and China or *** International treaties to which it is a party, or in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of priority, China will regard the date of its application in the United States, that is, October 31, 2006, as the date of its application to China. If between October 31, 2006 and October 2007 During the 20th, someone applied for a patent on the same subject in China, but the State Intellectual Property Office did not grant the authorization. Legal basis: Article 29 of the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" The applicant shall apply for a patent within twelve months from the date when the invention or utility model is filed for the first time in a foreign country, or from the date when the design is filed for the first time in a foreign country. If a patent application is filed in China on the same subject within six months from the date of filing a patent application, the foreign country shall comply with the agreement signed by the foreign country with China or the international treaty to which both countries are party, or in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of priority. , can enjoy priority. If the applicant files another patent application for the same subject with the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within twelve months from the date of first filing a patent application for an invention or utility model in China, the applicant may enjoy priority.