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.
Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e).
Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/06/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 C.F. R 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
IDS’s submitted in parent application 17/896937 are also considered.
Oath/Declaration
The Oath/Declaration filed on 08/27/2024 is hereby acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because some of the numeral labeling are illegible in figure 6. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 5-9 and 15-19 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 5-9 and 15-19 recite the abbreviations “IBC” and “ISC” which should be fully spelt out for its first time occurrences in the claim chain. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8, 9, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recite the limitation “a historical coding unit” in line 1-2. It is unclear if this historical coding unit is same or different from “at least one historical coding unit” recited in line 10 of claim 2 upon which claim 8 depends on.
Claim 9 recite the limitation “a historical coding unit” in line 3. It is unclear if this historical coding unit is same or different from “at least one historical coding unit” recited in line 10 of claim 2 upon which claim 9 depends on.
Claim 18 recite the limitation “a historical coding unit” in line 2. It is unclear if this historical coding unit is same or different from “at least one historical coding unit” recited in line 10 of claim 12 upon which claim 18 depends on.
Claim 19 recite the limitation “a historical coding unit” in line 3. It is unclear if this historical coding unit is same or different from “at least one historical coding unit” recited in line 10 of claim 12 upon which claim 19 depends on.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1-13 and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1, 8-13 and 15 of U.S. Patent No. US 12114006 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims in the present application are a broader version of the claims found in the Patent No. US 12114006 B2 and/or substantially identical in structural and functional characteristics and/or broader versions of each other, as it can be seen in the table below.
The following table illustrates a mapping of the conflicting claim pairs:
Instant Application
1+2+3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11+12+13
20
Pat# US 12063611 B2
1
8
8
9
9
10
11
12
13
15
The following table illustrates a limitation mapping of the limitations of claim 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 of the present application compared against the limitations of claims 1, 13 and 15 of Pat# US 12114006 B2.
Instant Application
Pat# US 12114006 B2
1. A method for constructing a candidate motion information list performed by a computing device, the method comprising: obtaining a candidate motion information list for providing one or more candidate prediction displacement vectors for a current coding unit;
determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list; and
adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one piece of motion information comprises at least one of the following: motion information comprised in a sequence header or a picture header; at least one piece of preset motion information; motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the other motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of a coding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of the current coding unit; motion information of a space adjacent unit of the current coding unit; or motion information determined based on information recorded in a historical unit list, wherein the historical unit list records information of at least one historical coding unit.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the preset motion information comprises a displacement vector; and
the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following: (0, 0), (−w, 0), (−2*w, 0), (0, −h), (0, −2*h), (−w, −h), (−w, −2*h), (−2*w, −h), or (−2*w, −2*h), wherein w is a width of the current coding unit, and h is a height of the current coding unit; or w is a width of a minimum coding unit, and h is a height of the minimum coding unit.
1. A method for constructing a motion information list in video encoding and decoding, the method comprising:
obtaining a motion information list, wherein the motion information list is a candidate motion information list that is used for providing a candidate prediction displacement vector;
determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the motion information list; and
adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated motion information list when a length of the candidate motion information list is less than a threshold,
wherein the motion information list is a historical motion information list used for recording historical motion information and the at least one piece of motion information includes motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the another motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of an encoding and decoding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of a current encoding and decoding unit and at least one piece of preset motion information comprising a displacement vector; and
the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following: (0, 0), (−w, 0), (−2*w, 0), (0, −h), (0, −2*h), (−w, −h), (−w, −2*h), (−2*w, −h), or (−2*w, −2*h), wherein w is a width of a minimum encoding and decoding unit, and h is a height of the minimum encoding and decoding unit;
and wherein the preset motion information further comprises position information; and the position information comprises at least one of the following: coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a picture, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [0, pic_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a picture, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is 0; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU, wherein a horizontal coordinate is x and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); or coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [x, x+ctu_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y, wherein coordinates of an upper left corner of the current CTU are (x, y), a width of the picture is pic_w, a height of the picture is pic_h, a width of the current CTU is ctu_w, and a height of the current CTU is ctu_h.
11. A computing device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by the processor, causing the computing device to implement a method for constructing a candidate motion information list, the method comprising: obtaining a candidate motion information list for providing one or more candidate prediction displacement vectors for a current coding unit; determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list; and adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list.
12. The computing device according to claim 11, wherein the at least one piece of motion information comprises at least one of the following: motion information comprised in a sequence header or a picture header; at least one piece of preset motion information; motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the other motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of a coding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of the current coding unit; motion information of a space adjacent unit of the current coding unit; or motion information determined based on information recorded in a historical unit list, wherein the historical unit list records information of at least one historical coding unit.
13. The computing device according to claim 12, wherein the preset motion information comprises a displacement vector; and the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following: (0, 0), (–w, 0), (–2*w, 0), (0, –h), (0, –2*h), (–w, –h), (–w, –2*h), (–2*w, –h), or (–2*w, –2*h), wherein w is a width of the current coding unit, and h is a height of the current coding unit; or w is a width of a minimum coding unit, and h is a height of the minimum coding unit.
13. A computer device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the computing device to perform operations comprising: obtaining a motion information list, wherein the motion information list is a candidate motion information list that is used for providing a candidate prediction displacement vector; determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the motion information list; and adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated motion information list when a length of the candidate motion information list is less than a threshold, wherein the motion information list is a historical motion information list used for recording historical motion information and the at least one piece of motion information includes motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the another motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of an encoding and decoding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of a current encoding and decoding unit and at least one piece of preset motion information comprising a displacement vector; and the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following: (0, 0), (−w, 0), (−2*w, 0), (0, −h), (0, −2*h), (−w, −h), (−w, −2*h), (−2*w, −h), or (−2*w, −2*h), wherein w is a width of a minimum encoding and decoding unit, and h is a height of the minimum encoding and decoding unit; and wherein the preset motion information further comprises position information; and the position information comprises at least one of the following: coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a picture, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [0, pic_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a picture, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is 0; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU, wherein a horizontal coordinate is x and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); or coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [x, x+ctu_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y, wherein coordinates of an upper left corner of the current CTU are (x, y), a width of the picture is pic_w, a height of the picture is pic_h, a width of the current CTU is ctu_w, and a height of the current CTU is ctu_h.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by a processor of a computing device, causing the computing device to implement a method for constructing a candidate motion information list in video encoding and decoding, the method comprising: obtaining a candidate motion information list for providing one or more candidate prediction displacement vectors for a current coding unit; determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list; and adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by a processor of a computer device, causes the computing device to perform operations comprising: obtaining a motion information list, wherein the motion information list is a candidate motion information list that is used for providing a candidate prediction displacement vector; determining at least one piece of motion information when a length of the motion information list meets a condition, the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the motion information list; and adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated motion information list when a length of the candidate motion information list is less than a threshold, wherein the motion information list is a historical motion information list used for recording historical motion information and the at least one piece of motion information includes motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the another motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of an encoding and decoding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of a current encoding and decoding unit and at least one piece of preset motion information comprising a displacement vector; and the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following: (0, 0), (−w, 0), (−2*w, 0), (0, −h), (0, −2*h), (−w, −h), (−w, −2*h), (−2*w, −h), or (−2*w, −2*h), wherein w is a width of a minimum encoding and decoding unit, and h is a height of the minimum encoding and decoding unit; and wherein the preset motion information further comprises position information; and the position information comprises at least one of the following: coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a picture, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [0, pic_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a picture, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is 0; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a horizontal coordinate is 0 and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU row, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [0, pic_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y; coordinates of a pixel of a left boundary of a current CTU, wherein a horizontal coordinate is x and a value range of a vertical coordinate is [y, y+ctu_h−1]); or coordinates of a pixel of an upper boundary of a current CTU, wherein a value range of a horizontal coordinate is [x, x+ctu_w−1] and a vertical coordinate is y, wherein coordinates of an upper left corner of the current CTU are (x, y), a width of the picture is pic_w, a height of the picture is pic_h, a width of the current CTU is ctu_w, and a height of the current CTU is ctu_h.
It is clear that all the elements of the instant application claims 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 are to be found in patent claim 1, 13 and 15 (as the instant application claims 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 fully encompasses patent claim 1, 13 and 15). The difference between the instant application claims 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 and the patent claim 1, 13 and 15lies in the fact that the patent claim includes many more elements and is thus much more specific. Thus, the invention of claims 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 of the instant application is in effect a “species” of the “generic” invention of the patent claims 1, 13 and 15. It has been held that the generic invention is “anticipated” by the “species”. See In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Since the instant application claims 1+2+3, 11+12+13 and 20 are anticipated by claim 1, 13 and 15 of the patent, it is not patentably distinct from claim 1, 13 and 15 of the patent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1, 2, 11, 12 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 2020/0077085 A1 cited in submitted IDS).
Regarding Claim 1, Zhang et al. discloses;
A method (Abstract, Fig, 7: a method) for constructing a candidate motion information list performed by a computing device (Fig. 1: Server system 102 includes a transcoder 106; Para. [0061]: “a computing device”; Para. [0067]: “an apparatus”), the method comprising:
obtaining a candidate motion information list (Fig. 7: step 704 – initializes/obtains historical motion vector predictor list) for providing one or more candidate prediction displacement vectors for a current coding unit (Para. [0026], [0027]: “one or more motion vectors 204 that point to a position [displacement vector] in another frame”…“first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, with a list to store the historical motion vector predictors (HMVPs), which can be used as the motion vector predictor candidates of a current coding block [current coding unit]”);
determining at least one piece of motion information (Para. [0030]: determines a “resulting motion vector”) when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition (Para. [0030]: “if a FIFO buffer is full [meets a condition]”. That is when the historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 buffer is full (i.e., length or size - meets a condition]), the “resulting motion vector” is determined), the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the historical motion vector predictor list size [length ] is equal to between four and ten motion vectors”); and
adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the transcoder motion prediction block 108 stores the resulting motion vector into historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 to update the historical motion vector predictor list…. thus, when transcoder motion prediction block 108 adds new motion vector predictors to the historical motion vector predictor list, the older motion vector predictors may be removed, such as the oldest, if a FIFO buffer is full [i.e. obtain an updated candidate motion information list]”).
Regarding Claim 11, Zhang et al. discloses;
A computer device (Fig. 1: Server system 102 includes a transcoder 106; Para. [0061]: “a computing device”; Para. [0067]: “an apparatus”), comprising a processor and a memory (Para. [0067]: “one or more computer processors; and a computer-readable storage medium”), the memory storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, being loaded and executed by the processor to implement a method for constructing a candidate motion information list in video encoding and decoding (Para. [0061]: “a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon computer executable instructions, which when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to”), the method comprising:
obtaining a candidate motion information list (Fig. 7: step 704 – initializes/obtains historical motion vector predictor list), wherein the motion information list is a candidate motion information list is used for providing a candidate prediction displacement vector (Para. [0026], [0027]: “one or more motion vectors 204 that point to a position [displacement vector] in another frame”…“first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, with a list to store the historical motion vector predictors (HMVPs), which can be used as the motion vector predictor candidates of a current coding block”);
determining at least one piece of motion information (Para. [0030]: determines a “resulting motion vector”) when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition (Para. [0030]: “if a FIFO buffer is full”. That is when the historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 buffer is full (i.e., length or size), the “resulting motion vector” is determined), the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the historical motion vector predictor list size [length ] is equal to between four and ten motion vectors”); and
adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the transcoder motion prediction block 108 stores the resulting motion vector into historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 to update the historical motion vector predictor list…. thus, when transcoder motion prediction block 108 adds new motion vector predictors to the historical motion vector predictor list, the older motion vector predictors may be removed, such as the oldest, if a FIFO buffer is full”)
Regarding Claim 2 and 12, Zhang et al. discloses;
wherein the at least one piece of motion information comprises at least one of the following:
motion information comprised in a sequence header or a picture header (optional limitation not addressed);
at least one piece of preset motion information [Para. [0037]: “These motion vectors may be default motion vectors or predefined motion vectors”];
motion information exported from another historical motion information list, wherein the other motion historical motion information list comprises a historical motion information list of a coding unit adopting a prediction mode different from that of the current coding unit (optional limitation not addressed);
motion information of a space adjacent unit of the current coding unit (optional limitation not addressed); or
motion information determined based on information recorded in a historical unit list (Para. [0048]: “loading…a first set of motion vectors [motion information] from a first list as historical motion vector predictors [information recorded in a historical unit list]), wherein the historical unit list records information of at least one historical coding unit (Para. [0017]: “historical motion vector prediction utilizes a list of previously coded motion vectors as predictors"; Para. [0044]: “the historical motion vector predictor list includes the typical motion vectors previously stored from the adjacent blocks).
Regarding Claim 20, Zhang et al. discloses;
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by a processor of a computing device, causing the computing device to implement a method for constructing a candidate motion information list in video encoding and decoding (Para. [0061]: “a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon computer executable instructions, which when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to”), the method comprising:
obtaining a candidate motion information list (Fig. 7: step 704 – initializes/obtains historical motion vector predictor list), wherein the motion information list is a candidate motion information list is used for providing a candidate prediction displacement vector (Para. [0026], [0027]: “one or more motion vectors 204 that point to a position [displacement vector] in another frame”…“first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, with a list to store the historical motion vector predictors (HMVPs), which can be used as the motion vector predictor candidates of a current coding block”);
determining at least one piece of motion information (Para. [0030]: determines a “resulting motion vector”) when a length of the candidate motion information list meets a condition (Para. [0030]: “if a FIFO buffer is full”. That is when the historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 buffer is full (i.e., length or size), the “resulting motion vector” is determined), the length referring to a number of pieces of motion information comprised in the candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the historical motion vector predictor list size [length ] is equal to between four and ten motion vectors”); and
adding the at least one piece of motion information to the candidate motion information list to obtain an updated candidate motion information list (Para. [0030]: “the transcoder motion prediction block 108 stores the resulting motion vector into historical motion vector predictor list storage 402 to update the historical motion vector predictor list…. thus, when transcoder motion prediction block 108 adds new motion vector predictors to the historical motion vector predictor list, the older motion vector predictors may be removed, such as the oldest, if a FIFO buffer is full”).
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.
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2020/0077085 A1 cited in submitted IDS) in view of Xu et al. (NPL titled: “CE8-related: Unified intra block copy block vector predication” 2019, NPL Cite No. 5 in submitted IDS).
Regarding Claim 3 and 13, Zhang et al. discloses all as applied to claim 2 and 12 above, however they do not teach;
wherein the preset motion information comprises a displacement vector; and the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following:
(0, 0), (−w, 0), (−2*w, 0), (0, −h), (0, −2*h), (−w, −h), (−w, −2*h), (−2*w, −h), or (−2*w, −2*h), wherein
w is a width of the current coding unit, and h is a height of the current coding unit; or
w is a width of a minimum coding unit, and h is a height of the minimum coding unit.
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “a unified block vector prediction list is constructed for both merge mode and AMVP mode in intra block copy mode”) Tencent teaches the at least one piece of motion information includes:
at least one piece of preset motion information (Section 2: Proposed method: “common predictor list”) comprising a displacement vector (Section 2: Proposed method: “Default vectors”); and the displacement vector comprises at least one of the following:
(0, 0), (-w, 0), (-2*w, 0), (0, -h), (0, -2*h), (-w, -h), (-w, -2*h), (-2*w, -h), or (- 2*w, -2*h) (Section 2: Proposed method: “Default vectors {(-2w, 0), (0, -2h), (-w, 0), (0, -h), (-2w, -2h), (-w, -h)} (w, h refers to the width and height of current block)”),
wherein w is a width of a minimum encoding and decoding unit, and h is a height of the minimum encoding and decoding unit(Section 2: Proposed method: “(w, h refers to the width and height of current block)”).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the at least one piece of motion information in Zhang et al.’s invention can include a preset motion information/common predictor list with displacement vectors/default vectors as taught by Xu et al., where doing so would (Tencent., Section 2: Problem Statement) simplify “BV predictor derivation process for IBC mode”.
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 2020/0077085 A1 cited in submitted IDS) in view of XU (US 2021/0409686 A1 cited in the submitted IDS).
Regarding Claim 10, Zhang et al. discloses all as applied to claim 1 as above, however they do not teach:
performing duplication checking and comparison on to-be-added motion information and motion information already existing in the candidate motion information list; and
updating the candidate motion information list according to a duplication checking and comparison result to obtain the updated candidate motion information list.
On the other hand, in the same field of endeavor (Abstract: “a method for constructing a motion information candidate lis”) Xu teaches:
performing duplication checking and comparison on to-be-added motion information and motion information already existing in the candidate motion information list (Para. [0195]: “duplicate checking is required to be performed when adding candidate motion information to the constructed motion information candidate list”); and
updating the candidate motion information list according to a duplication checking and comparison result to obtain the updated candidate motion information list (Para. [0195]: “when constructing the motion information candidate list, duplicate checking is required to be performed when adding candidate motion information to the constructed motion information candidate list”. That is constructing or updating motion information list is based on duplication checking and comparison ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that when adding at least one piece of motion information (“resulting motion vector”) to obtain updated historical motion vector predictor list in Zhang et al.’s invention can be performed by implementing duplication checking and comparison as taught by Xu, where doing so would (Xu, Para. [0048]) “reduce overhead in coding indices, and improve the coding performance”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-17 are 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.
Claims 18 and 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
LAROCHE et al. (GB 2527354 A) discloses (Abstract, Fig. 3, 5, 12) “Pixel blocks forming an image (1201) are encoded (and/or subsequently decoded), each block being encoded according to one of a plurality of modes. Vectors (e.g. motion vectors, displacement vectors or block vectors) are encoded using at least two modes. One of a plurality of displacement vector coding methods (1203) (e.g. Exponential Golomb code) is selected. A pixel block is then encoded according to a first mode (1207) (e.g. Intra, Intra block copy or String Matching mode) using the selected method, while another pixel block is encoded according to a second mode (1206) (e.g. Inter mode) also using the selected method. Encoding resources are therefore shared by different prediction modes with no encoding performance reduction. Also disclosed is pixel block encoding (and/or subsequent decoding) wherein each block is encoded according to one of a plurality of modes, at least one mode comprising the encoding of a two dimensional displacement vector. The vector is encoded based on the encoding of a syntax element corresponding to a displacement vector residual, wherein the encoding of the vector is realized according to a specific displacement vector encoding method for a given size of pixel block different to that used for other pixels block sizes.”
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/AMNEET SINGH/Examiner, Art Unit 2633 /SAM K AHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2633
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