DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Status of the Application
Receipt is acknowledged of the amendment and response filed 3/10/2026. Claims 1-4,7,8,11,12,16,17,19, 21-27 and 42 are pending in the application. Claims 1-4,21, 23 and 42 were amended.
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.
Claims 1-4,7,8,23,24,42 are rejected under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coconut milk.
Regarding claims 1,7,8,23,24 , coconut milk is an oil-in-water emulsion that contains coconut oil.
The fatty acids composition of coconut oil is as follows:
C6:0 (caproic acid) :0.52%; C8:0 (caprylic acid) : 7.6%; C10:0 (capric acid): 5.5%; C12:0 (lauric acid) :47.7%; C14:0 (myristic acid): 19.9%; C18:1cis (n-9) (oleic acid): 6.2%. (from Orsavova et al. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, Table 1).
Coconut oil meets the requirements A (13.6%) and B (67.6%). The oil is a part of an oil-in-water emulsion that is a plant based milk, coconut milk.
Regarding claim 2, the oleic acid content of coconut oil is 6.2% falling within the claimed range.
Regarding claim 3 and 4, in plant based milk coconut milk, a ratio of the saturated fatty acids content having 12 to 14 carbon atoms /the saturated fatty acids content having 6 to 10 carbon atoms is about 5, falling within the claimed range.
Regarding claim 42 the presence of A and B constituent fatty acid compositions in coconut milk would inherently suppress strange flavors (interpreted as off flavors), as claimed, as a compound cannot be separated from its properties.
Coconut milk anticipates the subject matter in claims 1-4,7,8,23,24 and 42, rendering the claims unpatentable.
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.
Claims 16,17,19,21,22,25-27 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over coconut milk, in view of fermented coconut milk (Mauro et al. J. Food Sci Technol (February 2019) 56(2):854—864)
Regarding claim 16 and 17, Coconut milk is an oil in water emulsion containing coconut oil, and may be fermented to produce fermented coconut milk (Mauro et al., see abstract). The fatty acids composition of coconut oil is as follows:
C6:0 (caproic acid) :0.52%; C8:0 (caprylic acid) : 7.6%; C10:0 (capric acid): 5.5%; C12:0 (lauric acid) :47.7%; C14:0 (myristic acid): 19.9%; C18:1cis (n-9) (oleic acid): 6.2%. (from Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, Table 1).
Coconut oil meets the requirements A (13.6%) and B (67.6%). The oil is a part of an oil-in-water emulsion that is a plant based milk, coconut milk.
Regarding claims 19, 21, 22, Mauro (abstract) discloses fermentation of coconut milk with lactic acid bacteria.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to produce a fermented milk from a plant based milk as non-dairy milk based products are increasingly in demand, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claims 25, a mixed fermented product comprising dairy milk and coconut milk would have an animal protein as claimed. Beverages comprising coconut milk and dairy whey protein are known.
Regarding claim 26 and 27, Mauro discloses a fermented beverage obtained from coconut milk by fermentation, motivating one of ordinary skill in the art to produce a fermented coconut milk comprising coconut oil/fat with A and B as claimed, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over coconut milk.
Regarding claims 11 and 12, a mixed product comprising dairy milk protein and coconut milk would have an animal protein as claimed. Beverages comprising coconut milk and dairy whey protein are known.
Claims 11,12,16,17,19,21,22, and 25-27 are therefore prima facie obvious in view of the art.
Response to Arguments
Claim amendments render the rejection of claims under 35 USC 112 and 35 USC 103 moot. However, the amendments change the scope of the invention, and therefore new grounds of rejection are indicated.
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 Subbalakshmi Prakash whose telephone number is (571)270-3685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Emily Le can be reached at (571) 272-0903. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUBBALAKSHMI PRAKASH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1793
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