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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 05/21/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/21/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-3, 5-6, and 9-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lehmuskallio (WO 2014/006269 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lehmuskallio discloses a package for foodstuff comprising a box (1b) made of a cellulose fiber material (see Page 6 lines 14-18), and a bag (see Fig. 2b; and Page 14 lines 21-23) comprising cellulose-based material and having an oxygen and moisture barrier function (see Page 8 lines 12-15; and Page 13 lines 3-30), wherein the bag is placed at least partially inside the box and non-detachably connected to the box (see Page 17 lines 8-14).
Regarding claims 2-3 and 5-6, Lehmuskallio discloses a package wherein the bag is made of a multi-layered bag structure comprising a first layer made of or comprising cellulose-based material, and a second layer made of a material having an oxygen and/or moisture barrier function (see Fig. 4).
Regarding claims 9 and 11, Lehmuskallio discloses a package wherein the bag comprises a cellulose fiber material (see Page 8 lines 12-15 and lines 17-26).
Regarding claim 10, Lehmuskallio discloses a package wherein the box is made of cardboard as a cellulose fiber material (see Page 12 lines 1-5).
Regarding claims 12 and 14, Lehmuskallio discloses a package wherein the bag is connected to the box by an adhesive (see Page 17 lines 8-14).
Regarding claim 13, Lehmuskallio discloses a package wherein the box comprises a reclosable lid for selectively releasing an opening section of the bag for accessing the content in the bag or discharging the content from the bag-in-box package (see Fig. 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 4 and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lehmuskallio in view of Ohman et al. (EP 3380318 B1; hereinafter Ohman).
Regarding claim 4, Lehmuskallio discloses the claimed invention except for a metallized coating. Ohman teaches a laminated packaging material wherein a second layer comprises a coating, wherein the coating is selected from the group consisting of a metallization coating, an SiOx based coating, an AlOx based coating, or/and combinations thereof (see Fig. 3b and Par. 0125-0127). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of Applicant’s filing to modify Lehmuskallio’s packaging to include a metallized barrier coating in order to make sure the outer packaging is hermetically sealed and oxygen gas-tight (Ohman; see Par. 0003-0004).
Regarding claim 7, Lehmuskallio, as modified above, teaches a packaging
wherein the second layer is made of or comprises polyethylene and wherein the second layer is made of or comprises metalized oriented polypropylene (Ohman; see Par. 0180).
Regarding claim 8, Lehmuskallio, as modified above, teaches a packaging wherein the first layer has a thickness in the range of 20-100 µm (Ohman; see Par. 0189)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE whose telephone number is (571)270-1982. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHAN J NEWHOUSE can be reached at (571)272-4544. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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