The patent law of our country adopts the principle of "application first", that is, if two or more applicants apply for a patent for the same invention-creation, the patent right can only be granted to the first applicant. It should be noted that "first application" should be judged by "application date" rather than "application time". If two or more applicants apply for a patent for the same invention and creation on the same day, even if one of them applies earlier than the other on the same day, it can only be regarded as two people applying at the same time. At this time, the two parties shall, after receiving the notice from the patent administration department of the State Council, determine the applicant through consultation; If negotiation fails, both applications will be rejected. This mechanism seems cruel, but in fact it can make two or more applicants reach an agreement. If one person abandons the application and the other person applies, he may ask the other party to give appropriate compensation or share the proceeds of patent exploitation in proportion. Because if no agreement can be reached, all parties' applications will be rejected, and this result is unacceptable to all parties.
The detailed rules for the implementation of the Patent Law stipulate that if the patent application documents are submitted by myself, the filing date shall be the filing date. If the application is made by mail, the date of mailing postmark shall be the date of submission; If the postmark date is unclear, the date of receipt by the patent administration department in the State Council shall be the date of filing, unless the parties can provide proof.