Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/770,465

METHOD, APPARATUS, AND MEDIUM FOR VIDEO PROCESSING

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 11, 2024
Examiner
RIAZ, SAHAR AQIL
Art Unit
2424
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Bytedance Inc.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allow Rate
369 granted / 492 resolved
+17.0% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
6 currently pending
Career history
498
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.8%
-31.2% vs TC avg
§103
51.3%
+11.3% vs TC avg
§102
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
§112
8.4%
-31.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 492 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Status of Claims Claims 1-20 are pending Response to Amendment Applicant's request for reconsideration of the rejection of the last Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the previous rejection is withdrawn. However, upon further search and consideration a new rejection is being made. Applicant is further advised to kindly file an Oath/Declaration with the inventor’s signature. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 8-10 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 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. Claims 1-5 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. US Patent Publication No. 2021/0021849 in view of Andrews, II et al. US Patent Publication No. 2020/0014980. Regarding Claims 1, 15, 17 and 19, Wang discloses a method, an apparatus [Figure 1] for processing video data comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory with instructions thereon, wherein the instructions upon execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium [0011] storing instructions that cause a processor to perform acts comprising: performing a conversion between bitstreams of a plurality of videos and a media file of the plurality of videos, comprising: performing a conversion between bitstreams of a plurality of videos and a media file of the plurality of videos [0076; the decoder can employ an entropy decoding scheme to convert the bitstream into corresponding syntax and video data], wherein the plurality of videos comprise a first video and a second video different from the first video [0004; The method comprises mapping, by the processor, a spherical video signal, stitched from multiple directional video signals, into a plurality of sub-picture video signals each containing a sequence of sub-pictures. The method also comprises encoding, by the processor, the plurality of sub-picture video signals as a plurality of sub-picture bitstreams, and composing, by the processor, the plurality of sub-picture bitstreams into a plurality of sub-picture tracks to be compatible with a multi-bitstream merge function for reconstruction of the spherical video signal or a part thereof], the media file comprises a first track for a bitstream of the first video and a second track for a bitstream of the second video [0012; The processor is further configured to encode the plurality of sub-picture video signals as a plurality of sub-picture bitstreams, and composing, by the processor, the plurality of sub-picture bitstreams into a plurality of sub-picture tracks to be compatible with a multi-bitstream merge function for reconstruction of the spherical video signal or a part thereof]. Wang fails to clearly disclose a target region in the first video for overlaying the second video is indicated by values of a first indication in the first track and a second indication in the second track. In an analogous art, Andrews discloses a target region in the first video for overlaying the second video is indicated by values of a first indication in the first track and a second indication in the second track [Figures 4-6 & [0082-0085]]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang and Andrews, before the effective filing date of the invention, to generate supplemented videos which include interactive features [Andrews 0008]. Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method wherein the first indication is comprised in a first data structure of the first track, the first data structure specifies characteristics of the first track, the second indication is comprised in a second data structure of the second track, and the second data structure specifies characteristics of the second track [Wang 0004; the system uses track level signaling (e.g., any box within an International Standards Organization Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF) movie box) to indicate to the decoder that the various sub-picture bitstream tracks are compatible with the lightweight merging process]. Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method wherein each of the first data structure and the second data structure is a track header box, and each of the first indication [Wang 0007; wherein the track level mergable indications are encoded in a track header box in a track box for each track] and the second indication is a matrix field [Wang 0090; The residual block includes the difference in values between the predictive block and the original block, represented as a matrix]. Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method, wherein a size of the second video is smaller than a size of the first video [Wang 0069]. Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Wang and Andrews disclose a method wherein the target region is a window [Andrews 0065 pop-up window]. Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method, wherein the media file is of an international organization for standardization (ISO) base media file format [Wang 0004 International Standards Organization Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF)]. Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method, wherein the conversion comprises generating the media file and storing the bitstreams to the media file [Wang 0056 & 0076]. Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a method, wherein the conversion comprises parsing the media file to reconstruct the bitstreams [Wang 0159; tracks are reconstructed into one conforming bitstream]. Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses an apparatus, wherein the first indication is comprised in a first data structure of the first track, the first data structure specifies characteristics of the first track, the second indication is comprised in a second data structure of the second track, and the second data structure specifies characteristics of the second track, or wherein the target region is a window [Andrews 0065 pop-up window], or wherein the second track is closer to a viewer of a presentation of the media file than the first track, or wherein the second video is laid in front of the first video, or wherein a value of a third indication in the second track is less than a value of a fourth indication in the first track, the third indication indicates a front-to-back order of the second track, and the fourth indication indicates a front-to-back order of the first track. Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the first indication is comprised in a first data structure of the first track, the first data structure specifies characteristics of the first track, the second indication is comprised in a second data structure of the second track, and the second data structure specifies characteristics of the second track, or wherein the target region is a window [Andrews 0065 pop-up window], or wherein the second track is closer to a viewer of a presentation of the media file than the first track, or wherein the second video is laid in front of the first video, or wherein a value of a third indication in the second track is less than a value of a fourth indication in the first track, the third indication indicates a front-to-back order of the second track, and the fourth indication indicates a front-to-back order of the first track. Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Wang and Andrews discloses a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, wherein the first indication is comprised in a first data structure of the first track, the first data structure specifies characteristics of the first track, the second indication is comprised in a second data structure of the second track, and the second data structure specifies characteristics of the second track, or wherein the target region is a window [Andrews 0065 pop-up window], or wherein the second track is closer to a viewer of a presentation of the media file than the first track, or wherein the second video is laid in front of the first video, or wherein a value of a third indication in the second track is less than a value of a fourth indication in the first track, the third indication indicates a front-to-back order of the second track, and the fourth indication indicates a front-to-back order of the first track. Claims 6-7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. US Patent Publication No. 2021/0021849 in view of Andrews, II et al. US Patent Publication No. 2020/0014980 in further view of Vishnia et al. US Patent Publication No. 2017/0374120. Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Wang and Andrews fails to clearly disclose a method wherein the second track is closer to a viewer of a presentation of the media file than the first track. In an analogous art, Vishnia discloses a method, wherein the second track is closer to a viewer of a presentation of the media file than the first track [0055 & Figure 6; video display window 602 includes graphical indicator 608 overlaid on the presentation]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, Andrews and Vishnia, before the effective filing date of the invention, in order to allow user to switch streams [0002]. Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Wang, Andrews and Vishnia discloses a method, wherein the second video is laid in front of the first video [Vishnia [0055]; video display window 602 includes graphical indicator 608 overlaid on the presentation]. Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Wang, Andrews and Vishnia discloses a method, wherein the first video is a main video, and the second video is a picture-in-picture (PiP) video [Vishnia Figure 6 & [0055]; video display window 602 includes graphical indicator 608 overlaid on the presentation]. Relevant Prior Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. It includes SHORE US-20200211598 and Oh US-20190379884. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAHAR A RIAZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3005. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am to 5 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, Benjamin Bruckart can be reached at 571-272-3982. 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. /SAHAR AQIL RIAZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2424
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 11, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 27, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Oct 01, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+16.3%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 492 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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