What does the earliest priority of patent mean? What are the classifications?

Patent priority refers to the patent applicant filing a patent application for his invention and creation in China within the statutory time limit after filing a patent application in a country for the first time. According to the relevant laws and regulations, the date of the first patent application is regarded as the filing date of his later application, which is the right that the patent applicant enjoys according to law. The purpose of patent priority is to exclude the possibility that anyone who plagiarizes this patent in other countries may first apply and get registered. ## 1. Domestic priority Domestic priority, also known as "domestic priority", means that the patent applicant can enjoy the priority if he files a patent application for the invention or utility model with the same theme in China within 12 months from the date when he first filed a patent application in China. Domestic priority does not include design patents. 2. International Priority International priority, also known as "foreign priority", means that a patent applicant who applies for a patent for invention or utility model for the first time in a foreign country within twelve months, or applies for a patent for design for the first time in a foreign country within six months, and applies for a patent on the same subject in China, can enjoy priority according to the agreement signed between the foreign country and China or the international treaties to which they are both parties, or according to the principle of mutual recognition of priority.