Legal analysis: patent application needs open technology. According to the relevant laws and regulations of our country, the patent administrative department of the State Council receives an application for a patent for invention, and if it meets the requirements after preliminary examination, it will be published 18 months after the date of application. During this period, the relevant departments have the obligation of confidentiality, so the public can't know the content of the application, and the substantive examiner can't know the content. The patent administration department of the State Council may publish its application at an early date upon the request of the applicant. An invention that has been publicly used cannot be patented because it must be novel.
Legal basis: Article 34 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). After receiving an application for a patent for invention, the administrative department for patent in the State Council, after preliminary examination, finds that it meets the requirements, and shall publish it after the expiration of 18 months from the date of application.