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 . 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 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.
Response to Amendment
The Examiner acknowledges amendments in the claim dated 05/04/2026 and enters for consideration. Claims 1-60 have already been cancelled. No new claims have been added or cancelled. Therefore claims 61-80 remain pending in the current application. The amendments are in response to the Non-Final Office Action dated 02/09/2026.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 61-64, 66-74, 76-80 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US PGPub 2023/0020655 A1) (Inventive concept disclosed in 62/988023 filed on 03/11/2020).
Regarding claim 61 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach a method, comprising:
interpreting at an encoder (Fig. 7) a region of at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture),
based on the interpreting, generating, using at least one specified variable ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region), compressed bits for constructing the at least one reconstructed picture comprising at least one hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table shows the Decoded Picture Secure Hash SEI Message Syntax which provides a secure hash for a rectangular region of the current decoded picture),
wherein the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with a top-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples (Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein in [0067], it states that the region may be denoted by the coordinates of certain positions within the region relative to a picture, such as top-left position of the region. In [0045], it states that a picture width and picture height in units of luma samples, denoted herein by pic_width_in_luma_samples and pic_height_in_luma_samples. The table in [0158] shows how the variables define the region, e.g., region_start_x, region_start_y, region_width and region_height as described in [0160]-[0162]), and
determining, based on the generating, whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained).
Regarding claim 62 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach an apparatus ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5000) comprising:
at least one processor ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5002), and
at least one memory including computer program code ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5004),
where the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least:
interpret at an encoder (Fig. 7) a region of at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture),
based on the interpreting, generate compressed bits for constructing the at least one reconstructed picture comprising at least one hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table shows the Decoded Picture Secure Hash SEI Message Syntax which provides a secure hash for a rectangular region of the current decoded picture) and using at least one specified variable ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region),
wherein the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with a top-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples (Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein in [0067], it states that the region may be denoted by the coordinates of certain positions within the region relative to a picture, such as top-left position of the region. In [0045], it states that a picture width and picture height in units of luma samples, denoted herein by pic_width_in_luma_samples and pic_height_in_luma_samples. The table in [0158] shows how the variables define the region, e.g., region_start_x, region_start_y, region_width and region_height as described in [0160]-[0162]), and
determine, based on the generate compressed bits, whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained).
Regarding claim 63 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:
send the compressed bits for constructing the at least one reconstructed picture to a decoder (Fig. 3 shows the video encoder 114 sending the encoded bitstream to the video decoder 124 as described in [0256]).
Regarding claim 64 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 62, wherein to determine whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to use a region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message encoded in the at least one reconstructed picture ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 66 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 64, wherein the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises at least one of the following:
a region-specific hash information ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash);
definitions of at least one specified variable of the dimension array (All the tables in [0158], [0166] and [0182] show the definitions of the variables); or
a decoded region hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 67 (Previously Presented), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 66, wherein the region-specific hash information comprises a region-based supplemental enhancement information message ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 68 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 66, wherein when the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises definitions of the at least one specified variable of the dimension array ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region), the definitions comprise:
the region with its top-left luma sample relative to the top-left luma sample of the current picture is denoted by (RegionX0, RegionY0) ([0189]; it teaches two variables ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top which represents the region with its top-left luma sample relative to the top-left luma sample of the current picture. Please see [0134]-[0135] for region specific definitions clarification), and width and height in units of luma samples denoted by RegionWidth and RegionHeight (The table in [0165] shows the regionWidth and regionHeight), wherein when RegionX0 or RegionY0 is not set, RegionX0 or RegionY0 is inferred to be equal to 0 ([0189]; it teaches that when ds_region_params_present_flag is equal to 0, the values of ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top are both inferred to be equal to 0), or
wherein when RegionWidth or RegionHeight is not set, RegionWidth or RegionHeight is inferred to be equal to PicWidthInLumaSamples or PicHeightInLumaSamples, respectively.
Regarding claim 69 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 66, wherein when the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises the decoded region hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash), the decoded region hash comprises indications of region settings for the at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture), wherein the region settings comprise indications of a dimension array for determining whether the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched or not to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), wherein the dimension array comprises values identifying the at least one specified variable for the interpreting ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region), wherein the at least one specified variable comprises:
RegionX0 is set equal to region_x0; wherein region_x0 is a horizontal offset from a top-left corner of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0182] shows startX[ cIdx ] = ds_region_start_left which is analogous to RegionX0 = region_x0);
RegionY0 is set equal to region_y0; wherein region_y0 is a vertical offset from a top-left corner of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0182] shows startY[ cIdx ] = ds_region_start_top which is analogous to RegionY0 = region_y0. NOTE: There is a typo in the prior art reference where both start_left and start_top were denoted by startX);
RegionWidth is set equal to region_width; region_width is a width of a specific region of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0165] shows regionWidth = region_width which is analogous to the RegionWidth = region_width); and
RegionHeight is set equal to region_height; wherein region_height is a height of a specific region of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0165] shows regionHeight = region_height which is analogous to the RegionHeight = region_height).
Regarding claim 70 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 62, wherein at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture provides a hash for each color component of at least one region of the at least one reconstructed picture ([0043]; It teaches that SEI message provides a hash for each color component of the current decoded picture).
Regarding claim 71 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach a method, comprising:
interpreting at a decoder (Fig. 8) of a communication network compressed bits for constructing at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture) from an encoder of the communication network (Fig. 7), wherein at least one region of the at least one reconstructed picture comprises at least one hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table shows the Decoded Picture Secure Hash SEI Message Syntax which provides a secure hash for a rectangular region of the current decoded picture) and is using at least one specified variable ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region),
wherein the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with atop-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples (Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein in [0067], it states that the region may be denoted by the coordinates of certain positions within the region relative to a picture, such as top-left position of the region. In [0045], it states that a picture width and picture height in units of luma samples, denoted herein by pic_width_in_luma_samples and pic_height_in_luma_samples. The table in [0158] shows how the variables define the region, e.g., region_start_x, region_start_y, region_width and region_height as described in [0160]-[0162]),
wherein the interpreting comprises:
generating at least one other hash ([0035]; It teaches a file verification process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a computer file, where it generates a hash of a copied file);
comparing the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture to the at least one other hash ([0035]; It teaches a file verification process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a computer file, where it compares the hash of the copied file to the hash of the original file), and
determining, based on the comparing, whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained).
Regarding claim 72 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach an apparatus ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5000) comprising:
at least one processor ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5002), and
at least one memory including computer program code ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numeral 5004),
where the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least:
interpret, at a decoder (Fig. 8), compressed bits for constructing at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture), wherein the at least one reconstructed picture comprises at least one hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table shows the Decoded Picture Secure Hash SEI Message Syntax which provides a secure hash for a rectangular region of the current decoded picture) and is using at least one specified variable ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region) from an encoder of the communication network (Fig. 7),
wherein the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with atop-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples (Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein in [0067], it states that the region may be denoted by the coordinates of certain positions within the region relative to a picture, such as top-left position of the region. In [0045], it states that a picture width and picture height in units of luma samples, denoted herein by pic_width_in_luma_samples and pic_height_in_luma_samples. The table in [0158] shows how the variables define the region, e.g., region_start_x, region_start_y, region_width and region_height as described in [0160]-[0162]),
wherein the interpreting comprises:
generate at least one other hash ([0035]; It teaches a file verification process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a computer file, where it generates a hash of a copied file),
compare the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture to the at least one other hash; determine ([0035]; It teaches a file verification process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a computer file, where it compares the hash of the copied file to the hash of the original file), and
based on the comparison, whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained).
Regarding claim 73 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 72, wherein the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive from an encoder of the communication network the compressed bits for constructing the at least one reconstructed picture comprising the at least one hash and using the at least one specified variable (Fig. 3 shows the video encoder 114 sending the encoded bitstream to the video decoder 124 as described in [0256]).
Regarding claim 74 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 72, wherein to determine, whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to: use a region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message encoded in the at least one reconstructed picture ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 76 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 74, wherein the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises at least one of:
region-specific hash information ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash);
definitions of at least one specified variable of the dimension array (All the tables in [0158], [0166] and [0182] show the definitions of the variables); or
a decoded region hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 77 (Previously Presented), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 76, wherein the region-specific hash information comprises a region-based supplemental enhancement information message ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash).
Regarding claim 78 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 76, wherein when the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises definitions of the at least one specified variable of the dimension array ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region), the definitions comprise:
the region with its top-left luma sample relative to the top-left luma sample of the current picture is denoted by (RegionX0, RegionY0) ([0189]; it teaches two variables ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top which represents the region with its top-left luma sample relative to the top-left luma sample of the current picture. Please see [0134]-[0135] for region specific definitions clarification), and width and height in units of luma samples denoted by RegionWidth and RegionHeight (The table in [0165] shows the regionWidth and regionHeight), wherein when RegionX0 or RegionY0 is not set, RegionX0 or RegionY0 is inferred to be equal to 0 ([0189]; it teaches that when ds_region_params_present_flag is equal to 0, the values of ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top are both inferred to be equal to 0), or
wherein when RegionWidth or RegionHeight is not set, RegionWidth or RegionHeight is inferred to be equal to PicWidthInLumaSamples or PicHeightInLumaSamples, respectively.
Regarding claim 79 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 76, wherein when the region-based hash supplemental enhancement information message comprises the decoded region hash ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax for region-based hash), the decoded region hash comprises indications of region settings for the at least one reconstructed picture ([0071]; Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein [0124]-[0126], it teaches that secure hash listed in FIPS 180-4 and FIPS 202 may be applied to the reconstruction of a region of a picture), wherein the region settings comprise indications of a dimension array for determining if the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched or not to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), wherein the dimension array comprises values identifying the at least one specified variable for the interpreting ([0158]-[0162]; The table in [0158] shows the generated SEI message syntax with at least one variable regarding the height or width of the region), wherein the at least one specified variable comprises:
RegionX0 is set equal to region_x0, wherein region_x0 is a horizontal offset from a top-left corner of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0182] shows startX[ cIdx ] = ds_region_start_left which is analogous to RegionX0 = region_x0),
RegionY0 is set equal to region_y0, wherein region_y0 is a vertical offset from a top-left corner of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0182] shows startY[ cIdx ] = ds_region_start_top which is analogous to RegionY0 = region_y0. NOTE: There is a typo in the prior art reference where both start_left and start_top were denoted by startX),
RegionWidth is set equal to region_width, wherein region_width is a width of a specific region of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0165] shows regionWidth = region_width which is analogous to the RegionWidth = region_width), and
RegionHeight is set equal to region_height, wherein region_height is a height of a specific region of the at least one reconstructed picture (The table in [0165] shows regionHeight = region_height which is analogous to the RegionHeight = region_height).
Regarding claim 80 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 72, wherein at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture comprises a hash for each color component of at least one region of the at least one reconstructed picture ([0043]; It teaches that SEI message provides a hash for each color component of the current decoded picture).
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 65, 75 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US PGPub 2023/0020655 A1) (Inventive concept disclosed in 62/988023 filed on 03/11/2020) in view of Ramasubramonian et al. (US PGPub 2017/0332085 A1).
Regarding claim 65 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 62, wherein to determine whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numerals 5002, 5004), to cause the apparatus using a region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message encoded in the at least one reconstructed picture ([0188]; it teaches a syntax element called sn_subpic_flag which is in the scalable nesting hash SEI message).
But Xu et al. do not explicitly teach wherein one or more regions are specified in the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message, and semantics of the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message are interpreted while being used for each of the specified one or more regions.
However, Ramasubramonian et al., in the same field of endeavor (Abstract), teach a system where it teaches one or more regions are specified in the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0128]; Fig. 3 shows the regional nesting SEI message structure where the region data 351 includes region 1 data 354, region 2 data 355, through region N data 356), and semantics of the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message are interpreted while being used for each of the specified one or more regions (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0129]-[0132]; it teaches different syntax elements, e.g., regional_nesting_num_rect_regions, rns_rect_region_left_offset[i], rns_rect_region_top_offset[i], rns_rect_region_right_offset[i], and rns_rect_region_bottom_offset[i], which helps the encoder/decoder to reconstruct the regions).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine Xu et al’s invention of signaling verification information, which includes an indication of an integrity of a portion of the media segment to include Ramasubramonian et al's usage of region-nested SEI messaging, because by defining the regions once for all of the nested SEIs in the regional nesting SEI message, a number of bytes is saved, which can increase coding efficiency, bandwidth, among other benefits (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0149], L36-39).
Regarding claim 75 (Currently Amended), Xu et al. teach the apparatus of claim 72, wherein to determine whether or not the at least one hash of the at least one reconstructed picture is matched to the at least one other hash ([0108]-[0110]; It teaches that a conforming video decoder shall output whether the segment matches the secure hash value or not, which is more clearly stated in [0314]-[0315], where it states outputting whether secure hash values of the region match the one or more secure hash values and as per [0291], the one or more reconstructed secure hash values being equal to the one or more secure hash values is indicative of the integrity of the portion of the media segment being maintained), the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured with the at least one processor ([0198]; Fig. 5, reference numerals 5002, 5004) to cause the apparatus to use a region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message encoded in the at least one reconstructed picture ([0188]; it teaches a syntax element called sn_subpic_flag which is in the scalable nesting hash SEI message).
But Xu et al. do not explicitly teach wherein one or more regions are specified in the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message, and semantics of the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message are interpreted while being used for each of the specified one or more regions.
However, Ramasubramonian et al., in the same field of endeavor (Abstract), teach a system where it teaches one or more regions are specified in the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0128]; Fig. 3 shows the regional nesting SEI message structure where the region data 351 includes region 1 data 354, region 2 data 355, through region N data 356), and semantics of the region-nested hash supplemental enhancement information message are interpreted while being used for each of the specified one or more regions (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0129]-[0132]; it teaches different syntax elements, e.g., regional_nesting_num_rect_regions, rns_rect_region_left_offset[i], rns_rect_region_top_offset[i], rns_rect_region_right_offset[i], and rns_rect_region_bottom_offset[i], which helps the encoder/decoder to reconstruct the regions).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine Xu et al’s invention of signaling verification information, which includes an indication of an integrity of a portion of the media segment to include Ramasubramonian et al's usage of region-nested SEI messaging, because by defining the regions once for all of the nested SEIs in the regional nesting SEI message, a number of bytes is saved, which can increase coding efficiency, bandwidth, among other benefits (Ramasubramonian et al.; [0149], L36-39).
Response to Arguments
The Examiner acknowledges the amendments made in the claims to address various claim objections. All the objections are addressed and therefore the objections are withdrawn. However, Applicant's arguments filed on 05/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s argument in Page 11-12 regarding the amendments allegedly overcome the teachings Xu et al., is not persuasive. The Applicant argues that “Xu does not teach or suggest the newly added limitation/feature to the independent claims. The Examiner's primary citation for the region variables is Xu's Embodiment #2 (the Digital Signature SEI Message at paragraphs [0166]-[0192]). See Office Action, page 7 (citing Xu's [0189] for claim 68), pages 8-9 (citing Xu's [0182] for claim 69), page 14 (citing Xu's [0189] for claim 78), and page 15 (citing Xu's [0182] for claim 79). Xu's paragraph [0189] explicitly states that ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top specify offsets (bolding added) "in units of chroma samples," not luma samples. See Xu, paragraph [0189]. Similarly, Xu's paragraph [0190] explicitly states that ds_region_width and ds_region_height specify the width and height (bolding added) "in units of chroma sample," and when not present, they are inferred to be the picture dimensions (bolding added) "in units of chroma samples." See Xu, paragraph [0190]. The code in Xu's paragraph [0182] further confirms this chroma-sample basis: for the luma component (cIdx == 0), the starting position is computed as startX[cIdx] = ds_region_start_left * SubWidthC, meaning ds_region_start_left must be multiplied by a chroma subsampling factor SubWidthC to convert to luma sample coordinates-underscoring that the underlying region parameters in Xu's Embodiment #2 are defined in chroma sample units, not luma sample units. Xu's published paragraph [0189] (ds_region_start_left and ds_region_start_top "in units of chroma samples") and paragraph [0190] (ds_region_width and ds_region_height "in units of chroma sample") correspond to the Digital Signature SEI Message semantics in section 5.2 of 63/029,354 on page 16, and Xu's published paragraph [0182] (the hash computation code using startX[cIdx] = ds_region_start_left * SubWidthC) corresponds to the Embodiment #2 Digital signature SEI message semantics in section 5.2 of 63/029,354 on page 16. Xu's Embodiment #1 (the Decoded Picture Secure Hash SEI Message at paragraph [0158]) is supported by the first provisional (62/988,023)-specifically, Xu's published paragraph [0158] corresponds to paragraphs [0047]-[0048] of 62/988,023-with an effective date of March 11, 2020. However, Embodiment #1 does not specify that the region variables define a region with a top-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, nor that the width and height are in units of luma samples. In contrast, claims 61, 62, 71, and 72 as amended explicitly require that the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with "a top-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples." This is a meaningful technical distinction in video coding because luma and chroma sample grids have different resolutions depending on the chroma subsampling format. For example, in 4:2:0 sampling, each chroma array has half the height and half the width of the luma array. See As-Filed Specification, paragraph [0083]. Xu's chroma-sample-based region definition is fundamentally different from the claimed luma-sample-based region definition”.
The Examiner cannot concur with the Applicant and respectfully disagrees. First of all, Xu et al. clearly teaches the amended limitation “wherein the at least one specified variable defines the region of the at least one reconstructed picture with a top-left luma sample of the region relative to a top-left luma sample of a current picture, and a width and a height of the region in units of luma samples” as evident from the citations in the rejection section, where Fig. 1 shows the region of a reconstructed picture, wherein in [0067], it states that the region may be denoted by the coordinates of certain positions within the region relative to a picture, such as top-left position of the region. In [0045], it states that a picture width and picture height in units of luma samples, denoted herein by pic_width_in_luma_samples and pic_height_in_luma_samples. The table in [0158] shows how the variables define the region, e.g., region_start_x, region_start_y, region_width and region_height as described in [0160]-[0162].
Next regarding the Applicant’s argument with respect to the citation of paragraph [0189] in the rejection of claims 68, 69, 79, where the Applicant argues the paragraph talks about "in units of chroma samples," not luma samples. But the Examiner, in the rejection of claim 68, also mentions to see [0134]-[0135] for region specific definitions clarification. In [0134], it clearly states “In one example, the region may be measured in chroma unit or luma unit”, which makes the Applicant’s argument moot.
Lastly, the Applicant’s argument that the provisional application does not support the citations in the rejections. However, Fig. 7; [0048], section 2.a.i; Section 5.1, table, of the provisional application, clearly supports the rejection of the amended limitations.
Therefore, the Examiner believes Xu et al. still anticipates the amended limitations of the independent claim(s).
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
“HASH TABLE CONSTRUCTION AND AVAILABILITY CHECKING FOR HASH-BASED BLOCK MATCHING” – Li et al., WO 2015131325 A1.
“CROSS-COMPONENT ADAPTIVE FILTERING AND SUBBLOCK CODING” – Wang et al., WO2021104409 A1.
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/Mainul Hasan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485
Prosecution Insights