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 .
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.
Claims 1, 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ATTIAS et al (US 2025/0101369) in view of DE 102018105329A1. ATTIAS et al disclose a mycelium-containing material comprising cellulose fibers and wood chips. (See Paragraphs [[0067], [0069], [0115] and [0124].) The difference between the composition disclosed by ATTIAS et al, and that recited in claims 1, 2 and 5, is that ATTIAS et al do not disclose that the composition includes a binder. DE 102018105329A1 discloses a substrate mixture for mushroom material containing a binder and nanocellulose. (See claim 1 and Paragraph [0001] of the English translation.) It would be obvious from DE 102018105329A1 to include a binder in the composition of ATTIAS et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since DE 102018105329A1 discloses in Paragraph [0020] of the English translation that the binder serves to adjust the rheological properties of the mixture, and the compositions of ATTIAS et al and DE 102018105329A1 are analogous in that DE 102018105329A1 teaches in claim 9 of the English translation that the mixture can be used for applying fungal mycelium, and ATTIAS et al disclose in Paragraph [0002] that the composition comprises mycelium in combination with cellulose.
Regarding claim 5, it would be within the level of skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to determine a suitable length for the cellulose fibers.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ATTIAS et al in view of DE 102018105329A1, as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of CN 113348967A, even further in view of WO 2004/098270 A1. It would be further obvious from CN 113348967A to provide the composition of ATTIAS et al with a water-impermeable layer. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since CN 113348967A discloses a mushroom substrate water-retaining film material, (see Paragraphs [n0004] and [n0008] of the English translation, and teaches in Paragraph [n0009] that the water-retaining film material can maintain a stable liquid state for a long time under normal temperature and light-proof conditions, making it convenient to store and use. It would be even further obvious from WO 2004/098270 A1 to provide fibrous pads as the growth medium of ATTIAS et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since WO 2004/098270 A1 discloses various advantages of the plant growth medium including fibrous pads in the paragraph bridging pages 11 and 12, which would be desirable attributes for the composition of ATTIAS et al. WO 2004/098270 A1 further discloses on page 9, lines 27-30 that the pad is stacked as multiple layers. The layers disclosed by WO 2004/098270 A1 and CN 113348967A would face each other, as recited by claims 3 and 4.
Claims, 1, 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2004/098270 A1 in view of ATTIAS et al. WO 2004/098270 A1 discloses a hydroponic plant growth medium comprising cellulose fibers and a binder. (See page 3, lines 30-33.) The difference between the growth medium of WO 2004/098270 A1, and that recited in claims 1, 2 and 5, is that WO 2004/098270 A1 does not disclose that the growth medium should include wood chips. ATTIAS et al disclose a mycelium-containing material comprising cellulose fibers and wood chips. (See Paragraphs [[0067], [0069], [0115] and [0124].) It would be obvious from ATTIAS et al to include wood chips in the growth medium of WO 2004/098270 A1. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since ATTIAS et al teach in Paragraph [0069] that wood chips give a space-filling bio composite which is strengthened or otherwise functionally modified, which would be a desirable attribute for the growth medium of WO 2004/098270 A1. Regarding claim 5, it would be within the level of skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to determine a suitable length for the cellulose fibers of WO 2004/098270 A1.
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2004/098270 A1 in view of ATTIAS et al, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CN 113348967A. It would be further obvious from CN 113348967A to provide the composition of WO 2004/098270 A1 with a water-impermeable layer. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so, since CN 113348967A discloses a mushroom substrate water-retaining film material (see Paragraphs [n0004] and [n0008] of the English translation), and teaches in Paragraph [n0009] that the water-retaining film material can maintain a stable liquid state for a long time under normal temperature and light-proof conditions, making it convenient to store and use. WO 2004/098270 A1 discloses various advantages of the plant growth medium including fibrous pads in the paragraph bridging pages 11 and 12. The layers disclosed by WO 2004/098270 A1 and CN 113348967A would face each other, as recited by claims 3 and 4.
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.
Claim 2 is 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. The recitation of “wood chips include wood pieces from trees corresponding to a type of mushroom to be cultivated” is indefinite since it is not ascertainable what the metes and bounds of “type” of mushroom would be, or what the nexus would be for trees to “correspond” to the type of mushroom.
Barteck (US 2022/0380271) is made of record for disclosing a growth media for fungus comprising lignocellulose biomass.
FR 3080258A1 is made of record for disclosing a vegetation support including comprising lower waterproof part 21.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WAYNE A LANGEL whose telephone number is (571)272-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:15 am to 4:15 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WAYNE A LANGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736