4.7.7 Practical use
Article 22 paragraph 4 of the Patent Law stipulates the following: “Practical use means that the invention or utility model can be manufactured or used and can produce positive effects.” In a retrial of an administrative dispute over the reexamination of the rejection of an invention patent application, Gu Qingliang v. Patent Reexamination Board,155 the Supreme People’s Court held that “can be manufactured or used” means that the technical solution of the invention or utility model can be made or used in an industry. The practical use of an invention patent application means that the technical solution itself conforms with the laws of nature, can be applied in practice and can be reproduced industrially. In this case, the application in dispute violated the law of conservation of energy and thus could not be manufactured or used in industry.