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 with traverse of the Group II, claims 6-15, in the reply filed on 6/09/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that claims of Groups I and II can be examined together for being both drawn to methods of storing of fungi. This is not found persuasive for the reason explain in the prior office action that the presently claims recite methods employing different materials and different conditions as presently claimed, thereby, have different designs, modes of operation and effects. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-5 and claims 16-20 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction requirement in the reply filed on 6/09/2026.
Claims 6-15 as filed on 6/09/2026 are under examination in the instant office action.
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.
Claims 6-8, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Sun et al (Food Science and Technology Research, 2020, 2 (64), pages 487-494).
The reference by Sun discloses a method of storing/maintaining a pure culture of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum, wherein the method comprises (see page 488, col. 2, par. 2):
Step of providing a sterile medium with grains of rice, wheat, buckwheat or corn selected from the group consisting of: a sterile nut or a portion thereof, a sterile grain or a portion thereof, and combinations thereof;
Step of inoculating the sterile medium with the pure culture of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum to produce an infested seed population of an ascomycetous fungus; and
Step of storing/maintaining the infested seed population of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum in a controlled temperature condition.
The controlled condition is temperature of about 25°C (see page 488, col. 2, par. 2). The cited method further comprises step of drying the seed population of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum (see page 488, col. 2, par. 2).
Thus, the cited reference by Sun anticipates claims 6-8, 14 and 15.
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.
Claims 6-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al (Food Science and Technology Research, 2020, 2 (64), pages 487-494) taken with Tewnion Truffles (Storage of truffles. July 13, 2013, webpage https://blacktruffles.co.nz>storage; pages 1-2 retrieved on 6/22/2026) and US 2022/0287251 (Upchurch et al).
The cited reference by Sun discloses a method of storing/maintaining a truffle or a pure culture of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum on sterile grains including rice and wheat at temperature of about 25°C (see page 488, col. 2, par. 2) as intended for development of food products.
The cited reference by Sun is silent about storing truffle fungi at low temperature.
However, storing truffle fungi at low temperatures is a well-established practice. The cited reference by Tewnion Truffles teaches that truffles are preserved in rice and by chilling for short term storage and by freezing for up to 6 months (pages 1-2). The cited US 2022/0287251 (Upchurch et al) discloses that freezing temperatures for biomass of ectomycorrhizal fungi including truffles below -0°C and to about -86°C (par. 0098, 0131, 143, 155).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to store truffles or a culture of ascomycetous fungus Tuber melanosporum at low temperatures with a reasonable expectation of success in preserving food qualities of truffles as recognized by the prior art.
Thus, the claimed invention as a whole was clearly prima facie obvious, especially in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
The claimed subject matter fails to patentably distinguish over the state art as represented be the cited references. Therefore, the claims are properly rejected under 35 USC § 103.
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Vera Afremova
June 22, 2026
/VERA AFREMOVA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1653
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