In China, the principle of first refusal is adopted for patent approval, which means that if two or more applicants submit the same patent application to the Patent Office, the patent right is granted to the individual or unit that first applies for the patent. Therefore, the applicant should promptly apply for a patent for their invention to prevent others from applying ahead of time. Due to the need for novelty in the technology being applied for, inventors should first apply for a patent and then publish a paper after obtaining a technological achievement, in order to avoid losing the opportunity to apply for a patent due to premature disclosure of the technology.