DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the Amendments and Remarks received 06/23/2026 in which claims 5, 8, 13, 15, 21, and 23 are cancelled, claims 1, 9, 16 are amended, and no claims are added as new claims.
Response to Arguments
Examiner incorporates herein previous Responses to Arguments.
It is noted the broadest reasonable interpretation of the recited “null component” is further clarified. The record had previously explained the term, under even a narrower interpretation consistent with a computer science context, would still be taught by the cited prior art. Specifically, the interpretation of the term, “null,” consistent with computer science distinguishes between a zero-valued variable and a null-valued variable as different from one another. In fields such as linear algebra or physics, zero component and null component of a vector mean the same thing. As dictionary-type references, Egner and Numericalmethodsguy are cited under the Conclusion Section of this Office Action to support Examiner’s finding that the proper interpretation of Applicant’s null component would be a zero-valued component, whether explicit signaled or inferred (derived).
On page 8 of the Remarks, Applicant contends the prior art is deficient for failing to teach or suggest that a second indication, indicating whether flipping is used, is only received after the first indication, indicating that one of the BV components is null. While Examiner agrees that Zhang teaches first receiving a flag indicating whether flipping is used and then receiving a second flag indicating horizontal or vertical flipping is used, Examiner does not agree that Zhang’s teachings do not teach or suggest Applicant’s claimed invention. Zhang’s Section III teaches that the combination of the first flag and the second flag would mean that one need not signal, and thus can infer, that one of the BV components is zero. In other words, Zhang teaches a logical decision tree that dictates that (1) if SIBC is used (i.e. if flipping is used); and (2) based on flipping direction (horizontal or vertical direction), one can infer additional information conveyed by that signaled information, i.e. that a particular BV component is zero-valued. Zhang arrives at this logical decision tree by explaining some fundamental truths about the block flipping coding tool. First, Zhang explains that there is traditional IBC and SIBC, wherein traditional IBC does not flip the reference block and SIBC does flip the reference block. Zhang explains that because of these two possibilities, one must signal whether block flipping is used. Indeed, it is possible for both regular IBC and SIBC to have a zero-valued BV component. Applicant’s claim also recognizes this requirement in requiring a flag to indicate SIBC or IBC (flipping enabled/disabled respectively). Second, Zhang explains that SIBC (block flipping) is only allowed if one of the two BV components is zero-valued and further teaches that vertical flipping correlates with a zero-valued x-component in the difference vector and horizontal flipping correlates with a zero-valued y-component in the difference vector. The skilled artisan would have easily recognized that Zhang’s teachings are describing “mutual implication,” which in logic is known as “logical equivalence” or a “biconditional statement.” In other words, if A is true, it leads to B, and if B is true, it leads to A. Specifically, given block flipping is used, Zhang teaches that if horizontal flipping, it leads to a BV vector difference of [x, 0] and if BV vector difference is [x, 0], it leads to horizontal flipping.
Zhang’s Logic
Applicant’s Logic
If ( SIBC = 1 AND FLIP = HOR )
BVD = [x, 0]
If ( BVD = [x, 0] AND SIBC = 1 )
FLIP = HOR
OR
OR
If ( SIBC = 1 )
If ( FLIP = HOR )
BVD = [x, 0]
If ( BVD = [x, 0] )
If ( SIBC = 1 )
FLIP = HOR
These above-two approaches being logical equivalents, Applicant’s averred distinction is obvious in view of Zhang’s teachings and level of skill in the art. It is noted that both Zhang and Applicant’s claimed invention represent a realization that a combination of two pieces of information allow one to infer a third piece of information and that it is a design choice which two pieces of information to signal to infer the third piece of information. This is a fundamental concept in data compression. As demonstrated, supra, Zhang elects to signal whether SIBC is enabled and, if so, the flipping direction, to derive whether a BV component is null. Using the same logic or a logical equivalent, Applicant elects to signal whether a BV component is null and whether SIBC is enabled, to optionally derive whether the flipping is horizontal or vertical (Applicant’s claim doesn’t recite any derivation, but it’s drafted in open-ended form). Therefore, because Applicant’s claimed invention is an obvious equivalent to the approach taught in Zhang, it is obvious under 35 U.S.C. 103.
Other claims are not argued separately. Remarks, 9.
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 of this title, 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 1–4, 16–19, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, K.; An, J.; Zhang, X.; Huang, H.; Lei, S. Symmetric intra block copy in video coding. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), Lisbon, Portugal, 24–27 May 2015; pp. 521–524 (herein “Zhang”) and Bae (US 2022/0086451 A1).
Regarding claim 1, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests a method comprising: after receiving a first indication that a block vector (BV), associated with a reference block, comprises a null component (Despite null typically meaning, in the computer context, that a data value does not exist, in standard linear algebra and physics, a “null component” and a “zero component” of a vector mean the same thing; Examiner notes that a null component or a zero component can occur in either traditional IBC or when flipped-block IBC is implemented, but further notes that when flipped-block IBC (SIBC) is implemented, one of the two components must be zero (null); see also Applicant’s original claim 5; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping; Because SIBC is only possible when one of the two (x, y) components is zero, the skilled artisan would understand that a logical decision tree could include determining that SIBC is either possible or not possible depending on whether one of the BV components is a null component; The skilled artisan would find it beneficial to be able to infer that SIBC is or is not possible because it could potentially save the signaling of an SIBC flag for every coding unit or prediction unit; In other words, Zhang’s teaching that SIBC is not possible when there is no null component for a BV teaches that the existence of a null component represents information regarding whether SIBC is not possible (definitely not employed) or is possible (could be employed, requiring further information); see also Responses to Arguments in this prosecution record), receiving, by a computing device, a second indication of whether or not flipping of the reference block is used for encoding a current block of content (Examiner notes that, consistent with the logical decision tree explained, supra, where the information that a BV component is a zero-valued (null) component indicates that SIBC is possible, there is ambiguity in the signal that must be resolved by decoding a flag indicating whether SIBC or traditional IBC is indicated; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping; Zhang, Section III: teaches SIBC flips the reference block before it is used to predict the current block); receiving: a third indication of a magnitude of a component of a block vector difference (BVD) associated with the current block (Examiner notes this must be for the other component (horizontal or vertical) since a null component would not have a magnitude or sign; Bae, ¶¶ 0117 and 0121: teaches BVD has component magnitudes BVDx and BVDy), and a fourth indication of a block vector predictor (BVP) (Bae, ¶ 0117: teaches the BV is obtained by adding the BVD to the BVP obtained from the bitstream); determining a sign of the component of the BVD based on: the BVP (Bae, Abstract: teaches the sign of a BVD may be determined based on a directional component of the block vector predictor), and the first indication that the BV comprises the null component (see, supra, regarding Zhang teaching the null component has a vector component equal to zero and thus there is no sign); determining the BV based on: the BVP, the sign of the component of the BVD, and the magnitude of the component of the BVD (Bae, ¶¶ 0117 and 0121: teaches the BV is obtained by adding the signed BVD components to the BVP obtained from the bitstream); and decoding the current block based on the reference block (Bae, ¶ 0128: teaches a decoder can decode the current block by determining a reference block using a block vector (BV); Zhang, Section III: teaches SIBC flips the reference block before it is used to predict the current block; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have been motivated to combine the elements taught by Zhang, with those of Bae, because both references are drawn to the same field of endeavor such that one wishing to practice intra block copy (IBC) mode would be led to their relevant teachings and because Zhang merely recognizes that symmetry exists in text and other screen content such that the skilled artisan would be led to combine Zhang’s teachings regarding screen content (i.e. text) with Bae’s recognition that IBC is tailored to screen content like text (Bae, ¶ 0064). Thus, the combination is a mere combination of prior art elements, according to known methods, yielding a predictable result. This rationale applies to all combinations of Zhang and Bae used in this Office Action unless otherwise noted.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, wherein the first indication comprises a flag indicating a direction of the null component of the BV (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, wherein the BV comprises a null vertical component or a null horizontal component (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, wherein the first indication comprises a flag indicating a direction of the null component of the BV, wherein the method further comprises: based on the direction of the null component of the BV, determining a direction of the component of the BVD (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero; Therefore, obviously the BVD must not be in the null direction).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests a method comprising: after receiving a first indication of a direction of a null component of a block vector (BV) associated with a reference block, receiving, by a computing device, a second indication of whether flipping of the reference block is used for encoding a current block of content (Zhang, Section III: teaches SIBC flips the reference block before it is used to predict the current block; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero); receiving: a third indication of a magnitude of a component of a block vector difference (BVD) associated with the current block (Bae, ¶¶ 0117 and 0121: teaches BVD has component magnitudes BVDx and BVDy), and a fourth indication of a block vector predictor (BVP) (Bae, ¶ 0117: teaches the BV is obtained by adding the BVD to the BVP obtained from the bitstream); determining a sign of the component of the BVD based on: the BVP (Bae, Abstract: teaches the sign of a BVD may be determined based on a directional component of the block vector predictor), and the first indication indicating the direction of the null component (see, supra, regarding Zhang teaching the null component has a vector component equal to zero and thus there is no sign); determining the BV based on: the BVP, the sign of the component of the BVD, and the magnitude of the component of the BVD (Bae, ¶¶ 0117 and 0121: teaches the BV is obtained by adding the signed BVD components to the BVP obtained from the bitstream); and decoding, based on the BV, the current block (Bae, ¶ 0128: teaches a decoder can decode the current block by determining a reference block using a block vector (BV)).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 16, further comprising: determining a direction of flipping of the reference block based on the first indication of the direction of the null component of the BV(Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 16, wherein the BV comprises a null vertical component or a null horizontal component (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 16, wherein the second indication of whether flipping of the reference block is used to encode the current block indicates a direction of flipping, wherein the method further comprises determining a direction of the component of the BVD based on the direction of flipping (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero; Therefore, obviously the BVD must not be in the null direction).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Zhang and Bae teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the second indication comprises receiving the second indication based on receiving the first indication indicating that the BV comprises the null component (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line for SIBC and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero; Thus, because the prior art teaches the null value is only possible when the current block and reference block are on the same line (vertical or horizontal), the skilled artisan would find it obvious that flipping cannot be assumed enabled when the received component value is not null; Zhang, Section III.B: teaches a first flag for indicating SIBC and a second flag for indicating horizontal or vertical flipping).
Claims 6, 7, 9–12, 14, 20, 23, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, Bae, and Xu (US 2022/0109852 A1).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the first indication, a list of BVPs comprising: a first BVP determined based on a dimension of the current block; and a second BVP determined based on a displacement from a location of the current block to a boundary of a reference region (Examiner notes this claim is interpreted in view of Applicant’s Fig. 19A, wherein it is recognized the possibilities within a given row span from the edge (boundary) of the reference region to the position adjacent to the current block and that the MVD can either start from one end (boundary) or the other end (neighbor) depending on how far the reference block is away from the current block and which BVD is most economical; Examiner further notes BVP0 is an adjacent (neighboring block) and BVP1 is the edge of the IBC reference region; Xu, ¶ 0368: teaches the offset added to a BVD can depend on the block dimension and/or block position and/or IBC reference region size; Therefore, the teachings of Xu would teach or suggest to the skilled artisan receiving a BVD and then adding the offset (just like a BVP is added) wherein the offset effectively sets a BVP at either a block dimension away or at a reference region limit (size)).
One of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, would have been motivated to combine the elements taught by Zhang and Bae, with those of Xu, because all three references are drawn to the same field of endeavor such that one wishing to practice intra block copy (IBC) mode would be led to their relevant teachings and because Xu merely recognizes the IBC search area is advantageously constrained to a reference region and that BVPs shall be ordered according to distance. Thus, the combination is a mere combination of prior art elements, according to known methods, yielding a predictable result. This rationale applies to all combinations of Zhang, Bae, and Xu used in this Office Action unless otherwise noted.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 1, wherein the determining the sign of the component of the BVD based on the BVP comprises: determining the sign of the component of the BVD to be negative based on the BVP being a first BVP in a list of BVPs; or determining the sign of the component of the BVD to be positive based on the BVP being a second BVP in the list of BVPs (Examiner notes this claim is interpreted in view of Applicant’s Fig. 19A, wherein it is recognized the possibilities within a given row span from the edge (boundary) of the reference region to the position adjacent to the current block and that the MVD can either start from one end (boundary) or the other end (neighbor) depending on how far the reference block is away from the current block and which BVD is most economical; Examiner further notes BVP0 is an adjacent (neighboring block) and BVP1 is the edge of the IBC reference region; Xu, ¶ 0368: teaches the offset added to a BVD can depend on the block dimension and/or block position and/or IBC reference region size; Therefore, the teachings of Xu would teach or suggest to the skilled artisan receiving a BVD and then adding the offset (just like a BVP is added) wherein the offset effectively sets a BVP at either a block dimension away or at a reference region limit (size); Examiner notes the moving positive in the x or y direction in this art follows raster order such that positive movements are right and down for x and y, respectively).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests a method comprising: selecting, by a computing device and based on a block vector (BV), associated with a reference block, comprising a null component (see treatment of claim 1), a block vector predictor (BVP) from among: a first BVP determined based on a dimension of a current block of content, and a second BVP determined based on a displacement from a location of the current block to a boundary of a reference region (Examiner notes this claim is interpreted in view of Applicant’s Fig. 19A, wherein it is recognized the possibilities within a given row span from the edge (boundary) of the reference region to the position adjacent to the current block and that the MVD can either start from one end (boundary) or the other end (neighbor) depending on how far the reference block is away from the current block and which BVD is most economical; Examiner further notes BVP0 is an adjacent (neighboring block) and BVP1 is the edge of the IBC reference region; Xu, ¶ 0368: teaches the offset added to a BVD can depend on the block dimension and/or block position and/or IBC reference region size; Therefore, the teachings of Xu would teach or suggest to the skilled artisan receiving a BVD and then adding the offset (just like a BVP is added) wherein the offset effectively sets a BVP at either one block dimension away or at a reference region limit (size)); based on a difference between the BV and the BVP, determining a magnitude of a block vector difference (BVD) (see treatment of claim 1); after sending a first indication that the BV comprises the null component, sending a second indication of whether or not flipping of the reference block is used for encoding the current block; and sending: a third indication of the magnitude of the BVD, and a fourth indication of the BVP (see treatment of claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 9, wherein the first indication comprises a flag indicating a direction of the null component of the BV (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 9, wherein the BV comprises a null vertical component or a null horizontal component (Zhang, Section III.B: teaches the reference block and the current block must be on the same horizontal line or vertical line and further teaches that when horizontal SIBC (or conversely vertical SIBC) is applied, the y component (or conversely the x component) of the BV need not be signaled and instead can be inferred to be zero).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 9, wherein the displacement from the location of the current block indicates: a first position at a top-most boundary of the reference region above the current block, or a second position at a left-most boundary of the reference region left of the current block (Examiner notes the prior art establishes that the reference region is limited to only reconstructed blocks, which by definition are above and to the left of the current block; Xu, ¶ 0247: teaches reference blocks can only be already reconstructed blocks; Examiner notes this claim is interpreted in view of Applicant’s Fig. 19A, wherein it is recognized the possibilities within a given row span from the edge (boundary) of the reference region to the position adjacent to the current block and that the MVD can either start from one end (boundary) or the other end (neighbor) depending on how far the reference block is away from the current block and which BVD is most economical; Examiner further notes BVP0 is an adjacent (neighboring block) and BVP1 is the edge of the IBC reference region; Xu, ¶ 0368: teaches the offset added to a BVD can depend on the block dimension and/or block position and/or IBC reference region size; Therefore, the teachings of Xu would teach or suggest to the skilled artisan receiving a BVD and then adding the offset (just like a BVP is added) wherein the offset effectively sets a BVP at either one block dimension away or at a reference region limit (size)).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 9, further comprising: sending a residual associated with the current block, wherein the residual is based on a difference between the current block and the reference block (Examiner finds this obvious prior art; Xu, ¶ 0248: teaches the residual is the difference between the original signal and the reference block).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Zhang, Bae, and Xu teaches or suggests the method of claim 16, further comprising: based on the first indication of the direction of the null component of the BV, determining a list of BVPs comprising: a first BVP determined based on a dimension of the current block; and a second BVP determined based on a displacement from a location of the current block to a boundary of a reference region (Examiner notes this claim is interpreted in view of Applicant’s Fig. 19A, wherein it is recognized the possibilities within a given row span from the edge (boundary) of the reference region to the position adjacent to the current block and that the MVD can either start from one end (boundary) or the other end (neighbor) depending on how far the reference block is away from the current block and which BVD is most economical; Examiner further notes BVP0 is an adjacent (neighboring block) and BVP1 is the edge of the IBC reference region; Xu, ¶ 0368: teaches the offset added to a BVD can depend on the block dimension and/or block position and/or IBC reference region size; Therefore, the teachings of Xu would teach or suggest to the skilled artisan receiving a BVD and then adding the offset (just like a BVP is added) wherein the offset effectively sets a BVP at either a block dimension away or at a reference region limit (size)).
Claim 24 lists the same elements as claim 22, but is drawn to the method of claim 9 rather than the method of claim 1. Therefore, the rationale for the rejection of claim 22 applies to the instant claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Huo et al., “Non-EE2: Block Vector Difference Sign Prediction (BVDSP) for IBC blocks,” JVET-AB0095-v2, 28th Meeting, Mainz, DE 20–28 October 2022. The publication teaches Block Vector Difference Sign Prediction (BVDSP) and that if one of the BVD components is zero, only 2 BVD candidates are possible.
Xu (2020/0021835 A1) teaches BVP coordinates at boundaries (x, 0) and (0, y) (¶ 0025).
Li (US 10,368,091 B2) teaches block flipping for IBC prediction (e.g. Abstract).
Zhao (US 2024/0022710 A1) teaches, for example, “when a horizontal flip is applied, the vertical component of the BV is not signaled and inferred to be equal to 0.” (¶ 0089). Examiner finds this teaching teaches the relationship between a BV component being zero and an indication that the block was flipped such that one wishing to design around the invention of another could simply flip the logic so that the component value signals the flip, rather than the flip signaling the component value. Examiner finds the two are equivalents.
Egner (US 2008/0282132 A1) is a dictionary-type reference that teaches a null vector has zero-valued components (¶ 0031).
Numericalmethodsguy, “Chapter 04.02: Lesson: What is a Null or Zero Vector?,” Youtube, accessed on 08/18/2026 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h4qsXIvRVM&t=6s (Oct. 1, 2014). This video teaches null vector components are zero-valued vector components, thus a null component and a zero component are the same thing.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael J Hess whose telephone number is (571)270-7933. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:00am-5:30pm.
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/MICHAEL J HESS/Examiner, Art Unit 2481
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