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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 18-21, 23, 27 and 29-33 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to non-elected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claims. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on January 8, 2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Group IV, Claims 34, 35 and 37 in the reply filed on January 8, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that there is not a serious search burden to examine all 20 claims. This is not found persuasive because the claims lack unity of invention under 1.475, i.e., there is no single general inventive concept.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claims 34, 35 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Farber (WO 2019/018803) in view of Sheppard et al. (WO 2016/187021 A1).
Regarding claim 34, Farber discloses a method of producing a yeast-fermented beverage comprising the steps of: (a) fermenting wort (i.e., substrate) in the presence of GY7B yeast to obtain a yeast fermented beverage.
Farber disclose GY7B yeast can produce both ethanol and lactic acid (Abstract, p. 26/L2-17). Farber also disclose the GY7B yeast is related to, but genetically and phenotypically distinct from Lachancea thermotolerans (Abstract).
While Farber discloses a method of producing a yeast-fermented beverage, i.e., sour beer, the reference is silent with respect to wine, cider, seltzer or mead.
Sheppard et al. teaches methods for producing fermented beverages including wine, cider, mead and malt beverages (e.g., beer), the method comprising fermenting at least one carbohydrate (i.e. substrate) in the presences of Lachancea thermotolerans to produce a fermented beverage (p. 9/L14-19, p. 10/L26-p.11/L4).
Sheppard et al. teaches L. thermotolerans can produce both ethanol and lactic acid (p. 46/L4-13).
Farber and Sheppard et al. are combinable because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely producing fermented beverages using yeast that are known to produce both ethanol and lactic acid in fermentation. Given Sheppard et al. teach it was known to produce beer, wine, mead and cider using L. thermotolerans yeast that produce both ethanol and lactic acid, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to have made a wine, cider or mead in the method of Farber which uses GY7B yeast that produces both ethanol and lactic acid, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 35, modified Farber discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Farber discloses the fermented beverage is fermented in the absence of an acid producing bacteria (Abstract, p. 3/L5-18). Farber also discloses the fermentation of the substrate can occur in the presence of a least one additional yeast strain selected from the group consisting of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces pastor ianus, Saccharomyces paradoxus, Saccharomyces eubayanus, Saccharomyces ludwigii, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cyberlindnera saturnus, Hansensiaspora uvarum, Hansensiaspora guilliermondii, Hansensiaspora osmophila, Hansensiasporavineae, Hansenula anomala, Issatchenkia occidentalis, Issatchenkia orientalis, Pichia kluyveri, Pichia caribbica, Pichia fermentans, Pichia kudriavzevii, Pichia Membranifaciens, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Candida colliculosa, Candida shehatae, Candida tropicalis, Candida ethanolica, Candida krusei, Candida magnolia, Candida milleri, Clavispora lusitaniae, Wickerhamomyces subpelliculosus, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Zygosaccharomyces fermentati, Zygosaccharomycesflorentinus, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Lachancea thermotolerans, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brettanomyces anomalus, Brettanomyces custersianus, Brettanomyces naardenensis, Brettanomyces nanus, Dekkera bruxellensis, and Dekkera anomala (p. 3/L11-12, p. 4/L19-p. 5/L8).
Regarding claim 37, modified Farber discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Farber discloses the yeast-fermented beverage has a low pH ranging from about 2.5 to about 4.5 (p. 2/L5-22, p. p. 11/L25-p. 12/L18).
Conclusion
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ELIZABETH A. GWARTNEY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1759
/ELIZABETH GWARTNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759