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
Status of Claims
Note: The amendment of June 18th 2026 has been considered.
Claims 1, 3, 7, 9 and 10 have been amended.
Claims 14-16 were added.
Claims 1-16 are pending in the current application.
Claims 8-13 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claims 1-7 and 14-16 are examined in the current application.
Any rejections not recited below have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
In light of the amendments filed on June 8th 2026, the indefiniteness rejections of claims 1-7 have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35 of the U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 1-7 and 14-169 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL “Chocolate Chickpea Truffles” (‘Northfield’) (from https://www.northfieldhospital.org/recipe/chocolate-chickpea-truffles) in view of NPL Watson, “InnovoPro opens US subsidiary as chickpea protein gains traction: ‘We think the market opportunity is huge’” (from https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/12/17/InnovoPro-opens-US-subsidiary-as-chickpea-protein-gains-traction-We-think-the-market-opportunity-is-huge/). Evidence from NPL “Chickpea Protein Content” (GoogleSearch) (from https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+protein+content+of+chickpeas&num).
Regarding claims 1, 2 and 5-7: Northfield discloses chocolate truffles without dairy constituents, wherein the chocolate truffles comprise about 40% chickpeas (see Northfield page 1), which are known to comprise about 20wt% protein (see GoogleSearch page 1), but fails to disclose using protein rich fraction from chickpeas comprising at least 40wt% protein (claim 1), or at least 60wt% (claim 2); However, Watson discloses a chickpea protein concentrate, which is better than chickpea powders and flours, as it comprises 70wt% protein and is an excellent emulsifier that combines water and oil together and provides very smooth texture (see Watson whole document). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a skilled artisan at the time the application was filed to have modified Northfield and to have substituted the chickpeas in Northfield, with the chickpea protein concentrate from Watson, as it is a better emulsifier that will provide a product with higher protein content, and thus arrive at the claimed limitations.
Moreover regarding claims 5 and 7: Northfield discloses the truffles comprise about 8% bulking agent (i.e., rolled oats) (see Northfield page 1), which reads on protein and bulking agent content recited in claim 7.
Regarding claims 3 and 4: Northfield discloses chocolate truffles without dairy constituents, wherein the chocolate truffles comprise about 40% chickpea seeds (see Northfield page 1) where chickpeas are known to comprise about 20wt% protein (see GoogleSearch page 1), but fails to disclose the protein-rich fraction of chickpeas, with a certain fat content and fat to protein content, as the source of the protein; However, given the fact that chickpeas are known to comprise protein, and since Northfield does not disclose removing or adding additional chickpeas protein to the truffles, while the chickpea protein in Northfield is not from the same source recited in the claims, it appears that Applicant is merely putting the chickpea fraction source, its protein and fat and the ratio of fat to protein limitations not to differentiate the effect of having the chickpea protein in a particular amount from other sources (i.e., the chickpeas in Northfield), but merely to give credence to where the source is. As such, it is Examiner’s position that the chickpea protein originating from a protein-rich fraction of chickpea seeds, with a certain fat content and ratio of fat to protein recitations do not render the current limitations patentably distinct from the prior art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed on June 18th 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-7 under 35 USC §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made under 35 USC §103 over NPL Northfield in view of NPL Watson (see discussion, above).
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 on M-F 8:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ASSAF ZILBERING/Examiner, Art Unit 1792
