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 .
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 person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asahi Breweries(English translation of WO2014/196265A1).
Regarding claims 1,2, Asahi teaches a method of increasing attenuation in a fermented beverage such as beer comprising adding transglucosidase in a maltose depleted fermentate, the maltose being depleted by the presence of glucoamylase(example 1).
Regarding claim 3, Asahi teaches that the fermentate has a concentration of less than 5mg/L(example 2), i.e. less than 0.0005%.
Regarding claim 4, Asahi teaches that less than 3U/ml is added to the fermentate(p.3, 3rd paragraph).
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.
Claim(s) 5-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asahi Breweries(English translation of WO2014/196265A1).
Regarding claims 5,6, Asahi teaches that less than 3U/ml is added to the fermentate(p.3, 3rd paragraph).
Regarding claims 7,14,16, Asahi teaches that the transglucosidase can be added at any time in the fermentation process including at the beginning(p.3, 1st paragraph). Therefore, it would have been obvious to adjust the timing of the addition of the transglucosidase depending on the desired taste of the composition.
Regarding claims 8-12, Asahi is silent on the rdf of the beer production. However, it would have been obvious to adjust the rdf(real degree of fermentation) depending on the taste desired in the final composition.
Regarding claim 13, Asahi is silent on the apparent extract of the beer product. However, it would have been obvious to adjust the apparent extract depending on the taste desired in the final composition.
Regarding claim 15, Asahi teaches adding glucoamylase to the fermentate(example 1).
Regarding claims 17-24. Asahi is silent on the sequence identity of the transglucosidase. However, it would have been obvious to select any transglucosidase capable of performing the method of claim 1, as the applicant has not shown that the specific transglucosidase provides any unexpected properties.
Conclusion
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/KATHERINE D LEBLANC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1791
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