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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds or rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (US 2025/0191234) in view of Esenlik et al. (Esenlik) (US 2023/0336784).
Regarding claim 1, the limitations of claim 1 are rejected in the analysis of claim 2 (see claim 2 below). Wang further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a device to perform the method as analyzed in claim 2 below ([0040], a program stored on a computer readable medium is executed).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses a device comprising one or more processors configured to:
receive a neural network post-filter characteristics supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message ([0013], neural network post-filter characteristic SEI signal is received);
parse a first syntax element in the neural network post-filter characteristics SEI message, wherein the first syntax indicates overlapping horizontal and vertical sample counts of adjacent input tensors ([0088], a syntax element nnpfc_overlap indicates the number of horizontal pixels and the number of vertical pixels for which neighboring input tensors are overlapped. The value of nnpfc_overlap is a value from 0 to 16383) of a neural network post-filter corresponding to the neural network post-filter characteristics SEI message ([0013], neural network post-filter characteristic SEI signal is received) and the first syntax element is in a range of 0 to 16,383, inclusive ([0088], a syntax element nnpfc_overlap indicates the number of horizontal pixels and the number of vertical pixels for which neighboring input tensors are overlapped. The value of nnpfc_overlap is a value from 0 to 16383);
derive an input tensor for the neural network post-filter based on the indicated overlapping horizontal and vertical sample counts ([0092], TABLE 23 an input tensor is derived using overlap sample counts); and
generate a filtered picture using the neural network post-filter based on the derived input tensor ([0088], input tensors are used for post-filtering).
Wang is silent about wherein the filtered picture generated by the neural network post-filter is generated in a patch-wise manner and overlap is removed in a patch-wise manner, such that the generated filtered picture does not include overlap regions.
Esenlik from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses wherein the filtered picture generated by the neural network post-filter ([0341], a neural network performs post filtering, [0356], an image is generated by the neural network) is generated in a patch-wise manner ([0034], [0356], the output of the neural network is subset rectangular regions (patches) of a reconstructed picture (R) which are combined to form the reconstructed picture) and overlap is removed in a patch-wise manner ([0342], [0465] subsets of the image (i.e. regions or patches of the image) are processed separately in parallel; [0465], cropping of the subsets of images is performed to remove overlap), such that the generated filtered picture does not include overlap regions ([0346], [0368], [0463]-[0465], a cropped image which removes overlap regions is generated).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Esenlik into the teachings of Wang for more efficient image encoding/decoding.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lin et al. (Lin) (US 2025/0330652) ([0127], a SEI message containing neural network post filter characteristics is signaled; [0214], [0413], [0452], video units are processed in patches; [0471], nnpfa_region_overlap_flag equal to 0 indicated that new regions are NOT overlapped).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 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.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFERY A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7579. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sath Perungavoor can be reached at 571-272-7455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFERY A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFERY A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7579. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sath Perungavoor can be reached at 571-272-7455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFERY A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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