"Double Protection" In China

Foreign applicants may know that they could file invention patent and utility model patent applications having the same specification in China, but how to proceed with this "double protection"? 

==Same-day invention and utility model==

It is possible in China to file both an invention patent application and a utility model (UM) patent application on the same day through Paris Convention direct filing. While the UM is usually granted first (within a year; no substantive examination), the invention will undergo a substantive examination and will be granted in 2-3 years.

Since Chinese UM applications only protect physical product with defined shape and/or structure, if applicants want to file both UM and invention patent applications, it is better to make sure that the technology is indeed directed to a product with defined shape and/or structure.