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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Note: The amendment of June 25th 2026 has been considered.
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claims 3 and 4 are cancelled.
Claim 22 was added.
Claims 1, 2 and 5-22 are pending in the current application.
Claims 8-19 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claims 1, 2, 5-7 and 20-22 are examined in the current application.
Any rejections not recited below have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In light of the amendment filed on June 25th 2026, the obviousness rejection of claims 1, 2 and 4 under 35 USC §103 over NPL Cato et al. has been withdrawn.
The text of those sections of Title 35 of the U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 5-7 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL “Gyoza with Wings” (‘Justonecook’) (from https://www.justonecookbook.com/gyoza-with-wings-hanetsuki-gyoza/) in view of NPL “Deep Fried Banana Fritters” (‘Pisang’) (from https://hungerhunger.blogspot.com/2009/11/deep-fried-banana-fritters.html). Evidenced by “Air Kapur” (Wikipedia entry from 2025).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 5-7 and 20-22: Justonecook discloses a recipe for preparing gyoza with wings comprising frozen gyoza dumplings that are fried with an agent (i.e., a batter) comprising all-purpose flour, potato starch (i.e., an emulsifier), neutral oil, toasted sesame oil and water (see Justonecook pages 1 and 2), but fails to disclose the batter has an alkaline pH as recited in claims 1-3, 7, 20 and 21; However, Pisang discloses that using “air kapur” to prepare batter, provides a final product that is golden with crispy texture (see Pisang page 4, blog entrance by Zurin on November 27th 2009). Given the fact air kapur is a limewater paste (see Pisang page 4, blog entrance by Zurin on November 27th 2009) that is known to have a pH of 12.3 (see “Air Kapur” pages 1 and 2 of Wikipedia entry), mixing the neutral ingredients of the “wings” with the limewater paste will clearly provide a batter with pH lower than 12.3, which encompasses the pH levels recited in claims 1, 2, 5-7, 20 and 21. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a skill artisan at the time the application was filed to have modified Justonecook and to have used alkaline batter at the pH recited in claims 1, 2, 5-7, 20 and 21, in order to attain a gyoza dumplings with wings that are golden with a crispy texture, and thus arrive at the claimed limitations.
As to the water and flour contents recited in claims 1 and 22: Justonecook discloses the batter comprises 100ml of water and 10ml (i.e., 2tsp) of all purpose wheat flour, rice flour, or potato starch (see Justonecook page 1). Given the fact the density of water is higher than the density of flour, the disclosure in Justonecook meets the water and flour contents recited in claims 1 and 22.
Response to Arguments
In light of the amendment filed on June 25th 2026, the obviousness rejection of claims 1, 2 and 4 under 35 USC §103 over NPL Cato et al. has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed on June 25th 2026 with regards to the rejection of claims 1, 2, 5-7 and 20-21 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over NPL “Gyoza with Wings” (‘Justonecook’) in view of NPL “Deep Fried Banana Fritters” (‘Pisang’) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on page 5 of the “Remarks” that the prior art references fail to render the claimed invention obvious, because the prior art references fail to disclose an agent (i.e,. batter) comprising not less than 60wt%. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
Justonecook discloses the batter forming the wings, comprising 100ml of water and 10ml (i.e., 2tsp) of all-purpose wheat flour, rice flour, or potato starch (see Justonecook page 1). Given the fact the density of water is higher than the density of flour, the disclosure in Justonecook meets the water content in the wings forming agent (i.e., batter) recited in claim 1.
Applicant argues on pages 6-7 of the “Remarks” that the prior art references fail to render the claimed invention obvious, because none of the prior art references disclose the claimed pH. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
While Justonecook fails to disclose the claimed pH, Pisang discloses that using “air kapur” to prepare batter, provides a final product that is golden with crispy texture (see Pisang page 4, blog entrance by Zurin on November 27th 2009). Given the fact air kapur is a limewater paste (see Pisang page 4, blog entrance by Zurin on November 27th 2009) that is known to have a pH of 12.3 (see “Air Kapur” pages 1 and 2 of Wikipedia entry), mixing the neutral ingredients of the “wings” with the limewater paste will clearly provide a batter with pH lower than 12.3, which encompasses the claimed pH levels. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a skill artisan at the time the application was filed to have modified Justonecook and to have used alkaline batter at the claimed pH, in order to attain a gyoza dumplings with wings that are golden with a crispy texture, and thus arrive at the claimed limitations.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASSAF ZILBERING whose telephone number is (571)270-3029. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Erik Kashnikow can be reached at (571) 270-3475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ASSAF ZILBERING/Examiner, Art Unit 1792
/ERIK KASHNIKOW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1792
