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 2nd 2026 has been considered.
Claims 1, 3 and 6 have been amended.
Claims 11-14 were added.
Claims 1-14 are pending in the current application.
Claims 9-10 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claims 1-8 and 11-14 are examined in the current application.
Any rejections not recited below have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-8 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakata et al., (USPatPub. 2014/0370154).
Regarding claims 1-8: Sakata discloses an emulsified composition for adding fat and oil to a food or drink product, wherein the emulsified composition contains fat and oil, an ionic surfactant (e.g., gum ghatti), and a polyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, diglycerin, triglycerin, polyglycerin, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, sorbitol (D-sorbitol), xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, mannitol, xylose, glucose, lactose, mannose, oligotose, high-fructose corn syrup, and sucrose) (see Sakata abstract; paragraph [0022]-[0025], [0027], [0035] and [0052]-[0059]).
Sakata discloses the emulsion comprises at least 25parts aqueous phase to a 100 parts oil phase (see Sakata abstract; paragraphs [0019]-[0022]), that means 20% or more aqueous phase and 80% or less oil phase, which meets the oil content in claim 1. Sakata discloses the content of ionic surfactant a content of the fat and oil is 5% by mass or more and 65% by mass or less with respect to a total amount of the emulsified composition, a content of the ionic surfactant is 0.3% by mass or more and 6.0% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the emulsified composition, the ionic surfactant contains at least lecithin or enzymatically decomposed lecithin (e.g., lysolecithin) (see Sakata paragraphs [0044]-[0045]), with a viscosity of 500 to 4000 mPas at 20°C, wherein the relative contents overlap the claimed contents (see Sakata abstract; paragraph [0022]-[0025], [0027], [0035] and [0052]-[0059]).
Regarding claims 11-14: Sakata discloses the emulsion comprises at least 25parts aqueous phase to a 100 parts oil phase (see Sakata abstract; paragraphs [0019]-[0022]), that means 20% or more aqueous phase and 80% or less oil phase, which meets the moisture content ranges recited in claims 11-14.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on June 2nd 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues the prior art reference fails to render the claimed invention obvious, because Sakata fails to meet the viscosity values, oil and moisture contents. The examiner respectfully disagrees.
As discussed above, Sakata meets the claimed moisture and oil contents, and viscosity values at 20°C.
Conclusion
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 on 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 on (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
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