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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/2/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3,6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Morimoto(WO 2018159658).
Regarding claims 1-3, Morimoto teaches an oil-or-fat processed starch that is formed by subjecting tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 150C for 1 to 336 hours(p.4, 5th paragraph). The amount of fat or oil composition in the oil-or-fat processed starch is 0.01% to 5%(p.4, 6th paragraph). Morimoto teaches that the oil-or-fat processed starch can be used as a coating for fried foods(abstract). Morimoto teaches that the starch can be a phosphoric acid crosslinked tapioca starch as a particularly preferable embodiment.
Morimoto does not specifically teach that “the amount of carbohydrates having a degree of polymerization of 1-3 in a sugar composition of a water-soluble fraction of an aqueous suspension is 3-20 mass%” and “the solid content concentration of the oil-or-fat processed starch in a supernatant of an aqueous suspension having a concentration of 40 mass% is 0.1-5.0 mass%.”
However, Morimoto teaches making the oil-or-fat processed starch in the same as is the claimed product. Specifically, the instant spec teaches making the oil-or-fat processed starch by subjecting tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 180C for 1 hr to 1 month(para 22) The amount of fat or oil composition in the oil-or-fat processed starch is 0.01% to 5%(para 19). Samples 2-3 of the instant spec teach subjecting phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 180C for 1 hr to 1 month and achieving coatings with light texture and excellent crispness.
Therefore, since Morimoto teaches subjecting phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 180C for 1 hr to 1 month as in the working examples in the instant spec, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect the product of Morimoto comprising phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to have the properties as recited in claims 1 and 2.
Applicant is reminded that where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." In re Spada, 911F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant’s declaration demonstrates that example 1 of Morimoto does not have the claimed amounts by mass of DP 1-3. However, the example tested by the applicant only contained tapioca starch and not phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch. As such, Morimoto teaches that the use of phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch is a particularly preferable embodiment. Samples 2-3 of the instant spec teach subjecting phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 180C for 1 hr to 1 month and achieving coatings with light texture and excellent crispness.
Therefore, since Morimoto teaches subjecting phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to an aging treatment with oil at a temperature of 30 to 180C for 1 hr to 1 month as in the working examples in the instant spec, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect the product of Morimoto comprising phosphoric acid cross-linked tapioca starch to have the properties as recited in claims 1 and 2.
Conclusion
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/KATHERINE D LEBLANC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1791