According to Article 9 of the Patent Law, the same applicant can apply for a patent for utility model and a patent for invention at the same time on the same day. The premise is that the patent right for utility model obtained first has not been terminated, and the applicant gives up the patent right for utility model when applying for a patent for invention. Therefore, in 202 1, the applicant can apply for both utility model and invention patent in the intellectual property protection law. Such laws and regulations are aimed at encouraging innovation, so that inventions can be protected more comprehensively.