DETAILED ACTION
Amendments made July 14, 2026 have been entered.
Claims 1 and 4-7 are pending;
Claims 4-6 have been withdrawn.
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 .
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 7 recite “wherein in the long chain fatty acid of the mixed acid triglyceride, a ratio of an unsaturated acid to a saturated fatty acid is 2.5 or more”. As a fatty acid is either saturated or unsaturated, wherein saturated fatty acids have only single bonds between carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon chains, and unsaturated fatty acids contain at least one double bond the claimed limitation is unclear; see Seneca Notes A Level Biology AQA Section 1.3.2 as evidence, https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/revision-notes/a-level/biology/aqa/1-3-2-types-of-fatty-acids pages 1-5, printed September 2026. In other words, it is unclear as to how a fatty acid can contain both unsaturated and saturated fatty acids as required by the claims. Although this limitation is in the original disclosure verbatim, see for example specification paragraph 0019, the specification does not provide any clarity to the limitation. Additionally, for claim interpretation it was considered as to if the claimed limitation could refer to the triglyceride composition, however, this does not find support in the original disclosure, and as a triglyceride is made of three fatty acids, the recited limitation could not encompass a ratio of 2.5 and refer to the fatty acids within the triglyceride.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Notes
MCT oil is an understood term that is a medium chain fatty acid oil and/or fat (see instant specification paragraph 22).
“Chocolate” is defined in the instant specification, paragraph 15, as “an oil and/or fat processed food product in which an oil and/or fat forms a continuous phase, and refers to not only chocolate, quasi-chocolate, and chocolate-based food products defined by the Japan Fair Trade Council of Chocolate Industry and the Japan Fair Trade Council of Chocolate-Utilizing Foods, but also products containing on oil and/or fat and powdered milk as essential components, in which as needed, auxiliary raw materials such as… are blended in arbitrary proportions”.
The rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over De Clercq et al (US 2018/0310584) in view of Togashi (US 2018/0352827) has been withdrawn in light of applicant’s amendments made July 14, 2026 which require the long chain fatty acid of the mixed acid triglyceride, a ratio of an unsaturated acid to a saturated fatty acid is 2.5 or more.
The rejection of claim 7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over De Clercq et al (US 2018/0310584) in view of Togashi (US 2018/0352827) and as evidenced by Arbuckle (Ice Cream 4th Edition 1986 Springer Science, pages 60-61) has been withdrawn in light of applicant’s amendments made July 14, 2026 which require the long chain fatty acid of the mixed acid triglyceride, a ratio of an unsaturated acid to a saturated fatty acid is 2.5 or more.
No prior art rejection could be made due to the lack of clarity in the newly recited claim limitations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. BioNinja shows that fatty acids are either saturated or unsaturated (“Fatty Acids” https://ib.bioninja.com.au/fatty-acids/ pages 1-5 printed September 2026).
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 KELLY BEKKER whose telephone number is (571)272-2739. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-3:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
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.
KELLY BEKKER
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1792
/KELLY J BEKKER/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1792
Prosecution Insights