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. Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of Group I. in the reply filed on 2/10/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the subject matter facilitates a single concept and burden is not undue. This is not found persuasive because burden is maintained and applicant have not shown supposed error in the holdings of the requirement . The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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) 1-6, 8, 16 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Grigsby(2016/0333240) . Grigsby discloses methods for forming products comprising mixing and stirring plant proteins, including soy protein and wheat gluten [note claim s 3 & 16 ] as defined by applicants’ claims, polyphenolic tannins [note claim 2] meeting the tanning agent requirements of applicants’ claims, and water and other agents including glycerol and other denaturing agents meeting the plasticizer requirements of applicants’ claims [note claim s 4 & 17 ], wherein the mixing and stirring are sufficient to meet the fluidizing and kneading requirements of the claims to the degree defined by the claims , and the mixing and stirring is followed by compressing as required by applicants’ claims{see abstract, paras [0006]-[0013], [0060]-[0072], [0131]-[0138], [0263]-0282], and the Examples, including Example 6} . From the standpoint of patentability and in that any article can be further treated and/or acted upon, it is held that the formed articles of Grigsby are semi-finished to any degree required by applicants’ claims , including to any limited degree that may be afforded in any patentable sense through any definition that may be set forth by applicants’ originally filed specification {note: page 3 of the same} . Regarding claim 5 various additives, viscosity modifiers, and pH modifiers, including NaOH, and fillers , including wood fibres are disclosed to meet the requirements of this claim {see paras [0106] & [0243] and the Examples, including Example 6}. Regarding claim 6, fluidized in water at 70°C is sufficient to meet the requirements of this claim {see Example 6}. Regarding claim 8, the various formed boards and mattresses are sufficient to meet the formed article requirements of this claim {see Examples}. Regarding, claim 9, in that a finished board placed in ambient conditions will cool and begin to dry , placement in an ambient environment is the most readily envisioned place to arrange the articles formed through the operations of Grigsby, and this placement would inherently meet the cooling and drying operations to the degree claimed {see Examples]. Additionally, without specific, distinguishing dimensions, the articles of Grigsby are sufficient to meet at least the technical profile alternative requirements of th is claim. 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. Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grigsby(2016/0333240) as applied to claim s 1-6, 8, 16 and 17 above, and further in view of TW M411171 U . Grigsby differs from applicants’ claim in that extruders are not particularly disclosed to be utilized. However, TW M411171 U discloses utilization of extruders in hot-press article formation to be known for purposes of forming pressed/shaped articles {see page 3 of accompanying translation} . Accordingly, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have utilized the extruder of TW M411171 U in forming the articles of Grigsby for the purpose of providing shaping/pressing of articles formed in order to arrive at the processes of applicants’ claims with the expectation of success in the absence of a showing of new or unexpected results. Further, it would necessarily follow that employment of an extruder would include an extrusion outlet or head to any degree as required by the claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John Cooney whose telephone number is 571-272-1070. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9 to 6. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Heidi Riviere Kelley, can be reached on 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JOHN M COONEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765