Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Application No. 18/678,287

VIDEO ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS USING BI-DIRECTIONAL INTRA PREDICTION MODE

Final Rejection §102
Filed
May 30, 2024
Examiner
GEROLEO, FRANCIS
Art Unit
3619
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Kia Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
73%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 73% — above average
73%
Career Allow Rate
418 granted / 573 resolved
+20.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
49 currently pending
Career history
622
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.8%
-34.2% vs TC avg
§103
53.3%
+13.3% vs TC avg
§102
18.2%
-21.8% vs TC avg
§112
12.3%
-27.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 573 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 11 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0110052 A1 (“Liu”). Regarding claim 1, Liu discloses a video decoding method, comprising: generating a prediction value of a current sample in a current block by using a value of a first reference sample and a value of a second reference sample (e.g. see in 1008 in Fig. 10, a pixel in the current block is predicted using a weighted average of two boundary pixels along the prediction direction, paragraph [0122]); and generating a prediction block of the current block based on the prediction value of the current sample in the current block (e.g. see prediction pixels, e.g. 704 in Fig. 7, in the current block, e.g. 700 in Fig. 7, are predicted, paragraphs [0093]-[0101], [0122]), wherein the first reference sample is a reference sample adjacent to a left side of the current block and having a same y-axis coordinate as the current sample (e.g. see reference pixels that represent the row or column pixels from the neighbor blocks, e.g. 502 in Fig. 5 or 702 in Fig. 7, immediately to the left or above, paragraphs [0076], [0093]-[0101]), and the second reference sample is a reference sample based on a top-right reference sample of the current block (e.g. see interpolated reference pixels, e.g. 708 in Fig. 7, including right boundary pixels based on top-right reference sample, paragraphs [0093]-[0101]) when an intra prediction mode of the current block is in a horizontal mode (e.g. see in 1002 in Fig. 10, a prediction direction is determined for a current block that correspond to one of the prediction modes in Fig. 4 including horizontal mode, e.g. mode 10 in Fig. 4, paragraphs [0120]-[0122]; thus, if the mode is determined to be horizontal mode, then the reference pixels used to predict a pixel in the current block would be one of the left neighboring reference samples and one of the right boundary interpolated reference samples along the prediction direction, i.e. on the same y-axis coordinate); and wherein the first reference sample is a reference sample adjacent to a top of the current block and having a same x-axis coordinate as the current sample (e.g. see reference pixels that represent the row or column pixels from the neighbor blocks, e.g. 502 in Fig. 5 or 702 in Fig. 7, immediately to the left or above, paragraphs [0076], [0093]-[0101]), and the second reference sample is a reference sample based on a bottom-left reference sample of the current block (e.g. see interpolated reference pixels, e.g. 708 in Fig. 7, including bottom boundary pixels based on bottom-left reference sample, paragraphs [0093]-[0101]) when the intra prediction mode of the current block is a vertical mode (e.g. see in 1002 in Fig. 10, a prediction direction is determined for a current block that correspond to one of the prediction modes in Fig. 4 including vertical mode, e.g. mode 26 in Fig. 4, paragraphs [0120]-[0122]; thus, if the mode is determined to be vertical mode, then the reference pixels used to predict a pixel in the current block would be one of the above neighboring reference samples and one of the bottom boundary reference samples along the prediction direction, i.e. on the same x-axis coordinate). Regarding claims 11 and 20, the claims recite analogous limitations to the claims above and are therefore rejected on the same premise. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10 and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2021/0243447 A1, Li et al., Planar prediction mode for visual media encoding and decoding US 2013/0301709 A1, Lim et al., Method and apparatus for encoding/decoding video using bidirectional intra prediction 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 FRANCIS G GEROLEO whose telephone number is (571)270-7206. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 am - 3:30 pm. 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, Anna M Momper can be reached on (571) 270-5788. 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. /Francis Geroleo/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 30, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 25, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Nov 28, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 15, 2025
Final Rejection — §102
Mar 04, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 06, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12591065
DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12581109
METHOD FOR ENCODING AND DECODING IMAGE INFORMATION AND DEVICE USING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12574501
METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR REFERENCE FRAME SELECTION, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12568223
RESTRICTIONS ON DECODER SIDE MOTION VECTOR DERIVATION BASED ON CODING INFORMATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12563202
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VIDEO INTRA PREDICTION INVOLVING FILTERING REFERENCE SAMPLES
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
73%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+10.0%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 573 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in for Full Analysis

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month