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 .
Continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) was filed after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.114 has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office Action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 03/30/2026 has been entered.
Claim status
The examiner acknowledged the amendment made to the claims on 03/30/2026.
Claims 1-3 and 6-17 are pending in the application. Claims 1-2 are currently amended. Claim 4 is currently cancelled. Claim 5 is previously cancelled. Claims 16-17 are newly presented. Rest of claims are previously presented. Claims 1-3 and 6-17 are hereby examined on the merits.
Examiner Note
Any objections and/or rejections that are made in the previous actions and are not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2 and 16-17 are objected to because of the following informalities: “step (d), “admixing the aqueous phase from step (c)” should read “admixing the aqueous phase obtained from step (c)”; and step (f), “enzymes” should read “the proteases”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 is objected to because there are two occurrences of “nut oi” in the Markush group. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 16-17 recite that the plant protein is not denatured. The examiner does not find support for such a limitation in the disclosure as originally filed. Nowhere in the instant disclosure recites that the plant protein in the protein source is not denatured.
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 8 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.
Claim 8 recites that “wherein said microorganisms are selected from the group of mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms and acidifiers formed by metabolism with or without the use of a substrate”. It is unclear what the “acidifiers” are referring to. Is it a microorganism? Clarification is required.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lehtonen US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0090523 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Lehtonen).
Regarding claims 1-3, 6-8, 10-11 and 13-14, Lehtonen teaches a method of producing a fermented (0042) plant-based cheese that comprises plant protein, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant protein source (e.g., broad bean, pea, lentil, etc., 0075), admixing the plant protein source with water to form an aqueous protein phase (0061, e.g., an aqueous protein suspension); adding a vegetable fat (e.g., canola, sunflower, shea, etc.) and dietary fiber (e.g., gellan, agar, carrageenan, pectin, xanthan, etc.) to the aqueous protein phase (0062; 0082-0083), admixing non-dairy milk with mesophilic or thermophilic microorganisms (0065; 0085; 0087) and fermenting (0065; 0068), draining whey from cheese mass (0068, which reads on the purification step as recited in claim 11), pressing, salting, and obtaining the fermented plant-based cheese (0071). Further, Table 1 shows that 15 parts of vegetable fat is mixed with 14 parts pant protein and 65.1 parts of water thus the amount of fat by the weight of the aqueous protein phase is 15/(14 + 65.1 ) = ~19%. Further, Lehtonen teaches a fermentation pH of 4-7 at a temperature of 30-50 °C (0085). Further, Lehtonen teaches that the plant-based cheese is vegan type (0156).
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chu WO 2022/226220 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Chu).
Regarding claims 16-17, Chu teaches a method of producing a fermented (e.g., cultured) plant-based cheese that comprises plant protein, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant protein source (e.g., legume or seed such as soy and pea; 0022; 0024, the protein of which is necessarily not denatured since the protein is intact), admixing the plant protein source with water and milling to form an aqueous phase (0024; 0137; 0140, e.g., an emulsion); adding a fat, and a fiber (e.g., pectin, dextrin, maltodextrin, etc.) to the emulsion (0137-0138; 0146-0148; 0116), admixing the emulsion with microorganisms and fermenting (e.g., starter cultures, 0158; 0022) suitable for culturing the protein and a protease to form curds and e.g., trypsin, pepsin, chymosin, rennet, etc.; 0100; 0165; 0022), and processing the curd (e.g., separating the curd formed from the whey, salting the curds, shaping the curds and aging the curds) (0022).
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chu WO 2022/226220 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Chu).
Regarding claims 1-3 and 6-15, Chu teaches a method of producing a fermented (e.g., cultured) plant-based cheese that comprises plant protein, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant protein source (e.g., legume or seed such as soy and pea; 0022; 0024), admixing the plant protein source with water and milling to form an aqueous protein phase (0024; 0137; 0140, e.g., an emulsion or a plant-based milk); adding a fat, and a fiber (e.g., pectin, dextrin, maltodextrin, etc.) to the emulsion or the plant-based milk (0137-0138; 0146-0148; 0116), admixing the emulsion or the plant-based milk with microorganisms (e.g., starter cultures, 0158; 0022) suitable for culturing the protein and a protease to form curds and whey (e.g., trypsin, pepsin, chymosin, rennet, etc.; 0100; 0165; 0022), fermenting, and processing the curd (e.g., separating the curd formed from the whey, salting the curds, shaping the curds and aging the curds) (0022).
Further, Chu teaches that the fat is added to the emulsion or the plant-based milk in an amount of 0-10% (w/v), or greater than 10% (w/v) (0149), and the fiber (e.g., sugar including pectin, dextrin, maltodextrin, etc.) is added to the emulsion in an amount of 0-5% (w/v), or greater than 5% (w/v). As such, Chu teaches an amount of fat or fiber that overlaps with the ranges as recited in claims 1-2 (assuming a density of ~1 g/ml for the emulsion or the plant-based milk) thus a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
Further regarding claim 6, Chu teaches that the fat is corn oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil (e.g., canola oil ), palm kernel oil, sunflower oil, nut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil etc. (0148-0149).
Further regarding claim 8, Chu teaches mesophilic or thermophilic cultures (0158).
Further regarding claim 10, Chu teaches a fermentation (e.g., culturing ) temperature of 35-41°C (0158), and a fermentation pH of 5-7 (0159).
Further regarding claim 11, Chu as recited above teaches separating the curds from the whey (0022), which is interpreted to read on the purification step as recited in claim 11.
Further regarding claim 12, Chu teaches the step of culturing the protein with the microbial culture followed by the step of treating the protein with a protease (0022; 0100; 0165). According to para. [0025] of the instant specification, such a sequential order qualifies a fermentation in multiple stages.
Further regarding claims 13-14, Chu teaches producing a vegan dairy substitute (e.g., cultured plant-based cheese which can be vegan; 0062; 0079; 0087).
Further regarding claim 15, Chu teaches mixing the cultured plant-based cheese with a dairy substitute base (e.g., gelling agent, plant fat and salt) to make a dairy substitute (e.g., a meltable plant-based cheese) (0027). Further, Chu teaches that the cheese obtained is vegan (0062; 0079; 0087).
Claims 1-3, 6 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holz-Schietinger EP 2943077B1 (hereinafter referred to as Holz-Schietinger).
Regarding claims 1-3, 6 and 8-9, Holz-Schietinger teaches a method of producing a fermented plant-based cheese that comprises plant protein, the method comprising the steps of providing a plant protein source (e.g., almond, oak, cashew, pecan, pea, corn, lentil, etc. 0067), admixing the plant protein source with water to form an aqueous protein phase (0066-0069, 0087; e.g., non-dairy milk); adding a fat (e.g., soy oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, palm oil, etc. 0022) to the non-dairy milk at an amount of 0-50% (0087), admixing the non-dairy milk with mesophilic or thermophilic microorganisms (0104; 0034) and a protease (0034; 0149; 0152; e.g., trypsin, pepsin, calpain, papain, cathepsin G, caspase, etc.), fermenting and processing the curd (0149). The amount of fat added to the non-dairy milk as disclosed by Holz-Schietinger encompasses the range as recited in claims 1-2. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (MPEP 2144.05 I).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/30/2026 regarding pending claims have been fully considered and the examiner’s response is shown below:
The 35 USC 112(a) or (b) rejection of claims 1-2 are withdrawn in view of the amendment made to the claims 1-2.
The 35 USC 102 rejection of claims 1-2 are withdrawn in view of the amendment made to the claims.
The 35 USC 103 rejection of claim 4 is withdrawn in view of the cancellation of claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHANGQING LI whose telephone number is (571)272-2334. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-5:00.
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/CHANGQING LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1791
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