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
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 8/19/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the office has not shown that the subcombination does have separate utility and the process of group III can be used to make a materially different product than the products of group I and II. This is not found persuasive because clearly the frozen minced fish meat has utility as a food product and the process itself does not require packaging as is required in the products of groups I and II.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 8-18 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected product and method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 8/16/2026.
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) 1-5, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kenichi(English translation JPH03254631).
Regarding claims 1-4, Kenichi teaches packaged fish meat comprising frozen minced fish meat and gas comprising oxygen at 100-80% by volume. CO2(inert gas) can also be included but is not required(abstract, example).
Regarding claim 5, Kenichi is silent on the amount of agglutinated frozen minced fish meat. However, Kenichi teaches that same packaged product as recited in claim 1. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect the same properties as claimed.
Regarding claim 7, Kenichi teaches that the packaged fish meat is packaged in a container comprising a film made of polyethylene(example).
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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kenichi(English translation JPH03254631).
Regarding claim 6, Kenich is silent on the size of the frozen minced fish meat. However, it would have been obvious to adjust the size of the frozen minced meat depending on the nature of the final product.
Conclusion
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/KATHERINE D LEBLANC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1791
