Patent issues Someone abroad has applied for a patent similar to mine. I have an invention patent. Not long after the invention, I saw on the Internet that a foreigner had the same invention as mine. But he invented it first. He has applied for his own national patent. So can I still apply for a patent in our country? If I produce this product in China, will he sue me for infringement? If he applies for an international patent, will I not be able to apply for it? What is the difference between the two. Does it mean that I can’t apply no matter whether he applies domestically or internationally? If you cannot apply for an invention patent after your utility model patent is granted, even if you apply, it will be rejected. If you really want to apply for an invention patent, you can do it in the following two ways: 1. Request to withdraw the utility model patent application, and then immediately apply for an invention patent on the same content. Or 2. Apply for an invention patent and claim the priority of the earlier applied utility model patent. However, the condition of this method is that it must be within 12 months from the filing date of the earlier utility model patent. Otherwise, this approach won't work.