Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-9, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi(US 7,470,445).
Regarding claims 1,2, Takeuchi teaches a fat composition enriched with medium-and long-chain triacylglycerols, said composition comprising: in terms of fatty acid composition of the fat composition, the content of medium-chain fatty acids and long-chain fatty acids reach above 99%(see table 1 which contains 100% long chain and medium chain fatty acids,
the content of short-chain fatty acids is less than 1%(0%, see table 1), and the mass ratio of long-chain fatty acids to medium-chain fatty acids is from 3:1(see col 3, line 26-29, the composition contains 5 to 23% medium chain fatty acids with the balance being long chain fatty acids);
a triacylglycerol containing one medium-chain fatty acid and two long-chain fatty acids makes up 46% of the total triacylglycerol(see table 1 composition 5),
a triacylglycerol containing two medium-chain fatty acid and one long-chain fatty acid makes up 18.5% of the total triacylglycerol(see table 1, composition 5), a triacylglycerol containing three medium-chain fatty acids makes up 1.9% of the total triacylglycerol(see table 1, composition 5); the short-chain fatty acids comprise at most 6 carbon atoms; the medium-chain fatty acids comprise 6-12 carbon atoms(col 3, line 4-6); the long-chain fatty acids comprise 14-24 carbon atoms(col 3, line 9-12).
Takeuchi teaches 5 to 23% medium chain fatty acids which are preferably saturated and 20% or less saturated long chain fatty acids and does not teach that the content of saturated fatty acids is more than 60%; in terms of triacylglycerol composition of the fat composition. However, Takeuchi teaches that the oil composition can be used in a variety of foods and that it is intended to provide equal flavor to conventional oils on the market(col 6, line 37-51) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to adjust the amounts of each saturated fatty acids depending on the nature of the final composition and the intended flavor of the oil.
Takeuchi teaches that the composition comprises long chain fatty acids and medium chain fatty acids(see table 1). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect not only medium-chain fatty acids but also long-chain fatty acids at the sn-2 position.
The only deficiency of Takeuchi is that the reference discloses 46% of a triacylglycerol containing one medium-chain fatty acid and two long-chain fatty acids while the present claims require 56-90%.
However, Takeuchi teaches that the oil composition can be used in a variety of foods and that it is intended to provide equal flavor to conventional oils on the market(col 6, line 37-51) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to adjust the amounts of each triacylglycerols depending on the nature of the final composition and the intended flavor of the oil.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Takeuchi teaches that the medium-chain fatty acids comprise lauric acid(col 3, line 4-8) and the long chain fatty acids comprise palmitic, oleic, linoleic acids(col 3, line 9-25).
Regarding claims 5,6,18, Takeuchi teaches forming the composition via random transesterification and that the initial oils comprise lauric, oleic, linoleic, and palmitic(see example 1, table 1, col 3, line 4-25). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect a mix of triacylglycerols including LaPO, LaOO, LaOL, LaLL, and LaPL. Takeuchi teaches that the oil composition can be used in a variety of foods and that it is intended to provide equal flavor to conventional oils on the market(col 6, line 37-51) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to adjust the amounts of each triacylglycerols depending on the nature of the final composition and the intended flavor of the oil.
Regarding claim 7, Takeuchi teaches that the medium-chain fatty acids and long-chain fatty acids are derived from one or more fats of vegetable oil or animal oil(col 4, line 9-24).
Regarding claims 8,9,19, Takeuchi teaches that the oil composition can be an additive in food(col 6, line 37-51). Since infants can eat a variety of adult foods, the oil composition can be considered to be used in an “infant food”.
Regarding claim 20, Takeuchi teaches that the medium chain triacylglycerols comprise one or more fats selected from the group consisting of coconut oil, palm kernel oil and the long-chain triacylglycerols comprise fish oil and/or lard(col 4, line 10-24).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/10/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that the claimed invention provides unexpected results in terms of improvement of in vitro digestion rate in infants and excellent oxidation stability. However, applicant’s arguments are not commensurate in scope with the claimed composition. Claim 1 recites a generic fat composition while the results all pertain to infant formula.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/KATHERINE D LEBLANC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1791
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