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 .
Applicant(s) Response to Official Action
The response filed on November 6, 2025 has been entered and made of record. Claim 20 have been amended. Claims 1 – 20 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to the claims and presented arguments have overcome the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed August 6, 2025. Accordingly, the rejection is withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments see pages 6 and 7 with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-7 and 11-17 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by XU et al., (US 2024/0236298 A1) in view of ZHAO et al., (US 2024/0137515 A1) have been fully considered and are not persuasive. Examiner’s response to the presented arguments follows below:
Applicant argues on page 7 that “The combination of XU and ZHAO does not cure this deficiency. XU's weighted combination of different prediction modes and ZHAO's selection of a single best reference block based on template matching costs are different from the claimed fusion of multiple reference chroma blocks derived from block vectors of co-located luma blocks.”. Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). XU clearly teaches deriving a chroma prediction mode of a chroma block in a chroma coding region based on luma coding information of a luma block (see Abstract). XU further teaches in Par. [0187], An initial prediction (also referred to as an initial prediction signal) of the current chroma block (1111) can be determined using the IBC mode or the IntraTMP mode and the chroma BV (1113). The initial prediction signal can be from the reference chroma block (1131) indicated by the chroma BV (1113). XU further teaches determining reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks in Fig. 13 and Par. [0171] At least one of (i) one or more BVs and (ii) coding information derived from the luma area (1141) that is collocated with the current chroma block (1111) can be used to derive the chroma BV (1113) and/or to determine how the current chroma block (1111). Xu further teaches fusing the reference chroma blocks to generate prediction samples for the chroma block in Par. [0153], A combined intra block copy and intra prediction (IBC-CIIP) mode can be used in video coding. The IBC-CIIP can be a coding tool for a CU which uses the IBC mode and an intra prediction to obtain two prediction signals (e.g., the IBC prediction signal P.sub.ibc and the intra prediction signal P.sub.intra) and the two prediction signals can be weighted and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P.) However, XU does not specifically teach two or more reference chroma blocks. ZHAO is relied upon for teaching determining two or more reference chroma blocks to generate prediction samples for the chroma block limitation (See Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks). It would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to specifying the determining two or more chroma blocks as suggest by ZHAO in invention of XU in order improve the accuracy of template matching, thereby improve coding performance (See ZHAO, Par. [0100]).
Therefore, XU in view of ZHAO teaches the limitation as claimed.
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 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 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 - 7 and 11 – 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XU et al., (US 2024/0236298 A1) referred to as XU hereinafter in view of ZHAO et al., (US 2024/0137515 A1) referred to as ZHAO hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, XU teaches a method of encoding or decoding video data (Fig. 14), the method comprising:
for a chroma block of a picture, determining luma blocks that are co-located with the chroma block (Fig. 13, Par. [0167], A luma area (1141) in the luma coding region (1120) includes the luma blocks (1121)-(1126) and is collocated with the current chroma block (1111));
determining reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks (Fig. 13, Par. [0171], The reference chroma block (1131) in the picture (1101) can be indicated by a chroma block vector (BV) (1113) of the current chroma block (1111). At least one of (i) one or more BVs (i.e. block vector for luma block) and (ii) coding information derived from the luma area (1141) that is collocated with the current chroma block (1111) can be used to derive the chroma BV (1113) and/or to determine how the current chroma block (1111) is to be coded, Par. [0183], A chroma prediction (also referred to as a final prediction signal) of the current chroma block (1111) can be determined based on a weighted sum of the first prediction and the second prediction (i.e. reference chroma blocks)), the block vectors pointing to locations within the picture (Fig. 13, chroma BV 1113, Par. [0082], a BV that is allowed in HEVC points to a reference block);
fusing the reference chroma blocks to generate prediction samples for the chroma block (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals can be weighted and summed (i.e. fused) to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P); and
block vector encoding or decoding the chroma block based on the prediction samples (Par. [0005], derives a chroma block vector (BV) of the current chroma block based on a first luma BV of the first luma block and reconstructs (i.e. block vector decoding) the current chroma block based on the chroma prediction mode that is the combination of the first coding mode and the second coding mode used to code the first luma block, Step 1440).
XU does not specifically teach determining two or more reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks.
However, ZHAO teaches determining two or more reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks).
References XU and ZHAO are considered to be analogous art because they relate to chroma block coding. Therefore, it would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to specifying the determining two or more chroma blocks as suggest by ZHAO in invention of XU. This modification would improve the accuracy of template matching, thereby improve coding performance (See ZHAO, Par. [0100]).
Regarding Claim 2, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 1. XU further teaches wherein fusing the reference chroma blocks comprises at least one of: averaging the reference chroma blocks; or scaling and summing the reference chroma blocks (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals (i.e. reference chroma blocks) can be weighted (i.e. multiple - scaled) and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P, Equation 6). ZHAO further teaches two or more reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks).
Regarding Claim 3, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 1. XU further teaches further comprising: determining respective weights for the reference chroma blocks (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals (i.e. reference chroma blocks) can be weighted (i.e. scaled) and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P, Par. [0154], Equation 6, P.sub.ibc and P.sub.intra can represent (or denote) the IBC prediction signal and the intra prediction signal. (w.sub.ibc, shift) can be set equal to (13, 4) and (1, 1) for the IBC merge mode and the IBC AMVP mode, respectively), wherein fusing comprises fusing the reference chroma blocks based on the respective weights (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals (i.e. reference chroma blocks) can be weighted (i.e. scaled) and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P). ZHAO further teaches determining two or more reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks).
Regarding Claim 4, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 3. XU further teaches further comprising: determining respective costs of the reference chroma blocks (Par. [0132], The cost function can include any suitable cost function, such as a sum of absolute differences (SAD). Par. [0133] Within each region (i.e. respective weights), the decoder can search for a template (e.g., (1020)) that has the least cost (e.g., the least SAD) with respect to the current template (1010) and can use a block (e.g., (1021)) associated with the template having the least SAD as a prediction block), wherein determining respective weights comprises determining respective weights based on the respective costs (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals (i.e. reference chroma blocks) can be weighted (i.e. scaled) and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P). ZHAO further teaches determining two or more reference chroma blocks based on block vectors for the luma blocks (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks).
Regarding Claim 5, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 3. XU further teaches further comprising: determining a weighting factor derivation operation (Par. [0099], The BV coding of the IBC mode can use more simplistic rules for candidate list construction (i.e. weighting factor derivation operation)), wherein determining respective weights comprises determining respective weights based on the weighting factor derivation operation (Par. [0153], the two prediction signals (i.e. reference chroma blocks) can be weighted (i.e. scaled) and summed to generate a final prediction (or a final prediction signal) P).
Regarding Claim 6, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 1. XU further teaches further comprising: determining respective candidate reference chroma blocks (Par. [0061] The predictor (335) may perform prediction searches for the coding engine (332). That is, for a new picture to be coded, the predictor (335) may search the reference picture memory (334) for sample data (as candidate reference pixel blocks) or certain metadata such as reference picture motion vectors, block shapes, and so on, that may serve as an appropriate prediction reference for the new pictures) based on respective block vectors for the luma blocks (Fig. 13, Par. [0171], The reference chroma block (1131) in the picture (1101) can be indicated by a chroma block vector (BV) (1113) of the current chroma block (1111). At least one of (i) one or more BVs (i.e. block vector for luma block) and (ii) coding information derived from the luma area (1141) that is collocated with the current chroma block (1111) can be used to derive the chroma BV (1113) and/or to determine how the current chroma block (1111) is to be coded, Par. [0183], A chroma prediction (also referred to as a final prediction signal) of the current chroma block (1111) can be determined based on a weighted sum of the first prediction and the second prediction (i.e. reference chroma blocks)); and determining respective costs of the respective candidate reference chroma blocks (Par. [0132], The cost function can include any suitable cost function, such as a sum of absolute differences (SAD). Par. [0133] Within each region (i.e. respective weights), the decoder can search for a template (e.g., (1020)) that has the least cost (e.g., the least SAD) with respect to the current template (1010) and can use a block (e.g., (1021)) associated with the template having the least SAD as a prediction block), wherein determining the reference chroma blocks comprises selecting candidate reference chroma blocks based on the respective costs (Par. [0131] the best prediction block (1021) (i.e. based on respective costs) can match a current template (1010) of a current block (1011)).
ZHAO further teaches determining the two or more reference chroma blocks (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks) comprises selecting candidate reference chroma blocks based on the respective costs (Par. [0106], A reference block can be determined from a plurality of candidate reference blocks for the current block in a reconstructed region of the current picture based on template matching (TM) costs. The TM costs can indicate differences between a template of the current block and respective templates of the plurality of candidate reference blocks.).
References XU and ZHAO are considered to be analogous art because they relate to chroma block coding. Therefore, it would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to specifying the selecting reference chroma blocks as suggest by ZHAO in invention of XU. This modification would allow a reconstruction block of the current block can be determined based on the determined reference block (See ZHAO, Par. [0106]).
Regarding Claim 7, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 6. XU further teaches wherein determining the respective costs comprises determining an amount of matching between a first template adjacent the respective candidate reference chroma blocks and a second template adjacent the chroma block (Par. [0131], the IntraTMP is a special intra prediction mode that can copy the best prediction block (1021) from a reconstructed part of a current frame (or a current picture), where a template (e.g., an L-shaped template) (1020) of the best (i.e. amount of matching) prediction block (1021) can match (i.e. respective costs) a current template (1010) of a current block (1011)).
Apparatus claims 11 – 17 are drawn to the corresponding method claimed in Claims 1 - 7. Therefore Claims 11 - 17 correspond to method Claims 1 – 7 and are rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Computer-readable storage medium claim 20 is drawn to the corresponding method claimed in Claim 1. Therefore Claim 20 corresponds to method claim 1 and are rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Claims 8 – 10, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XU et al., (US 2024/0236298 A1), in view of ZHAO et al., (US 2024/0137515 A1), and in further view of LI et al., (US 2024/0022739 A1) referred to as LI hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 8, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 6. ZHAO further teaches selecting candidate reference chroma blocks based on the respective costs (Par. [0106], A reference block can be determined from a plurality of candidate reference blocks for the current block in a reconstructed region of the current picture based on template matching (TM) costs. The TM costs can indicate differences between a template of the current block and respective templates of the plurality of candidate reference blocks) based on the chroma block vector (Par. [0139], a plurality of candidate reference chroma blocks can be determined within a search range in the current picture that is indicated by a block vector (BV) of the current chroma block. The BV of the current chroma block can be determined based on one of a plurality of associated luma blocks). XU in view of ZHAO does not explicitly teach a chroma block vector list.
However, LI teaches constructing a chroma block vector list based on the respective costs (Par. [0216], the candidate chroma BVs are reordered (i.e. chroma block vector list) based on the template matching costs into a reordered list having an ascending order for example), wherein selecting candidate reference chroma blocks comprises selecting the candidate reference chroma blocks based on the chroma block vector list (Par. [0207], chroma BV predictor candidates can be generated according to the above techniques, and put into a candidate list (i.e. chroma block vector list). A BVP index that indicates a selected chroma BV predictor from the chroma BV predictor candidates can be signaled from the encoder side to the decoder side).
References XU, ZHAO and LI are considered to be analogous art because they relate to chroma block coding. Therefore, it would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to specifying constructing a chroma block vector list as suggest by LI in inventions of XU and ZHAO. This modification would allow a final chroma BV that points to a reference chroma block for copying as the current chroma block (See LI, Par. [0207]).
Regarding Claim 9, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 1. XU further teaches wherein block vector encoding or decoding the chroma block comprises decoding the chroma block, and wherein decoding the chroma block (Fig. 2, Fig. 14, decoding) comprises: determining residual values indicative of a difference between the prediction samples and the chroma block (Par. [0046], these samples can be added (i.e. difference) by the aggregator (255) to the output of the scaler/inverse transform unit (251) (in this case called the residual samples or residual signal) so as to generate output sample information); and adding the residual values to the prediction samples to reconstruct the chroma block (Par. [0203] At (S1440), the current chroma block is reconstructed based on the chroma coding mode that is the combination of the first coding mode and the second coding mode used to code the first luma block.).
Regarding Claim 10, XU in view of ZHAO teaches claim 1. XU further teaches wherein block vector encoding or decoding the chroma block comprises encoding the chroma block, and wherein encoding the chroma block (Fig. 3, Fig. 15, encoding) comprises: determining residual values indicative of a difference between the prediction samples and the chroma block (Par. [0046], these samples can be added (i.e. difference) by the aggregator (255) to the output of the scaler/inverse transform unit (251) (in this case called the residual samples or residual signal) so as to generate output sample information); and signaling information indicative of the residual values (Par. [0063], The entropy coder (345) translates the symbols (i.e. signaling information) as generated by the various functional units into a coded video sequence, Par. [0183], The current chroma block (1111) can be reconstructed based on the chroma prediction and optionally based on the residual signal).
Claims 18 and 19 are drawn to the corresponding method claimed in Claims 8 - 10. Therefore Claims 18 and 19 correspond to method Claims 8 – 10 and are rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to SUSAN E HODGES whose telephone number is (571)270-0498. The Examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Brian T. Pendleton, can be reached on (571) . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Susan E. Hodges/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425