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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application.
Claims 9-20 are withdrawn from consideration (see discussion, below).
Claims 1-8 are examined in the current application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-8 in the reply filed on December 4th 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 9-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 4th 2025.
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Happe et al., (WO 2015/110388 A1).
Regarding claim 1: Happe discloses a fat blend composition comprising between 10-50% stearic acid (see Happe abstract; page 2, lines 14-21), 31-44wt% SAFA (see Happe Example 1, Table), less than 3% SSS and no mention of UUU (see Happe page 4, lines 4-11; page 5, lines 21-24). Happe also discloses the ratios S2U:SSS and S2O:S2L of not greater than 5 (see Happe page 5, lines 29-32). Since the claimed values overlap the values in Happe, a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP §2144.05).
Regarding claims 2-8: The table in Example 1 on pages 10-11 of Happe, delineates fat blends that comprise triglycerides with the fatty acid ratios, contents and sn-2 fatty acids that overlap or encompass the fatty acid ratios, contents and sn-2 fatty acids recited in claims 2-8.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASSAF ZILBERING whose telephone number is (571)270-3029. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Erik Kashnikow can be reached on (571) 270-3475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ASSAF ZILBERING/Examiner, Art Unit 1792
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