DETAILED ACTION
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 of the Response and Amendment after Non-Final Office Action filed 06/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant has overcome the following rejections by virtue of the amendment and/or persuasive remarks: (1) the 35 U.S.C. §112(b) rejections of claims 6-8 and 13-16 have been withdrawn; (2) the 35 U.S.C. §103 rejections of claims 1-3, 6-9, and 24 over Bell and Zheng have been withdrawn; and (3) the 35 U.S.C. §103 rejections of claims 10, 13-16, 21-23, and 25 over Bell and Zheng as evidenced by admitted prior art have been withdrawn.
The status of the claims upon entry of the present amendment stands as follows:
Pending claims: 10, 16, 23, 26-29
Withdrawn claims: None
Previously cancelled claims: 4-5, 11-12, 17-20
Newly cancelled claims: 1-3, 6-9, 13-15, 21-22, 24-25
Amended claims: 10, 16
New claims: 26-29
Claims currently under consideration: 10, 16, 23, 26-29
Currently rejected claims: 10, 16, 23, 26-29
Allowed claims: None
Claim Objections
Claims 28 and 29 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 28, “comprising” should be read as “comprises”.
In claim 29, “or” should be read as “and”.
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):
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.
Claims 10, 16, 23, and 26-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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.
Claim 10 recites that “the food product/beverage has a reduced lingering, as compared to a food product/beverage which comprises the MNEI variant but lacks the Brazzein or the variant thereof” wherein the MNEI variant has “amino acid replacements at residues corresponding to residues E2, E23, and Y65”. Neither the specification or claims as originally filed discloses reduced lingering of the MNEI variant in a food/beverage due to the presence of brazzein in the food/beverage. Therefore, such a limitation constitutes new matter.
Claims 16, 23, and 26-29 are rejected by reason of dependency from claim 10.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. §112(b) of claims 6-8 and 13-16: Applicant canceled claims 6-8 and 13-15; and amended claim 16 to fully address the rejection. Therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. §103 of claims 1-3, 6-9 and 24 over Bell and Zheng: Applicant canceled the claims. Therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. §103 of claims 10, 13-16, 21-23, and 25 over Bell and Zheng as evidenced by admitted prior art: Applicant canceled claims 13-15, 21-22, and 25. Therefore, the rejections of these claims are withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments with respect to claim(s) 10, 16, and 23 have been considered and are considered to overcome the rejections written in the previous Office Action. Therefore, the rejections of claims 10, 16, and 23 are withdrawn.
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.
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/K.P.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1791
/Nikki H. Dees/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1791
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