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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
35 U.S.C. 101 requires that a claimed invention must fall within one of the four eligible categories of invention (i.e. process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter) and must not be directed to subject matter encompassing a judicially recognized exception as interpreted by the courts. The four eligible categories of invention include: (1) process which is an act, or a series of acts or steps, (2) machine which is an concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices, (3) manufacture which is an article produced from raw or prepared materials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities, properties, or combinations, whether by hand labor or by machinery, and (4) composition of matter which is all compositions of two or more substances and all composite articles, whether they be the results of chemical union, or of mechanical mixture, or whether they be gases, fluids, powders or solids.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as not falling within one of the four statutory categories of invention because the claimed invention is directed to computer program per se. A claim directed toward a non-transitory computer-readable medium having the program encoded thereon establishes a sufficient functional relationship between the program and a computer so as to remove it from the realm of “program per se”. Hence, adding the limitation of “stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium” would resolve this this issue.
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 5-6 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “… wherein the reference subpicture having the same layer identifier as the current picture is marked as unused for reference based on a current picture including the current subpicture being of a specific picture type.” (emphasis added to accentuate insufficient antecedent basis).
For the purposes of examination, the limitation of claim 5 is interpreted as the following:
“… wherein the reference subpicture having the same layer identifier as the current picture is marked as unused for reference based on [[a]] the current picture including the current subpicture being of a specific picture type.”
Claim 6 is rejected, as it depends from claim 5.
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.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hannuksela et al., hereinafter referred to as Hannuksela (WO 2020/141260 A1).
As per claim 1, Hannuksela discloses an image decoding method performed by an image decoding apparatus (Hannuksela: Abstract), the image decoding method comprising:
receiving information on a reference picture set of a current subpicture for inter prediction (Hannuksela: Para. [0492]-[0493] disclose a control operation to mark a manipulated reference sub-picture as “used for reference” or “unused for reference”. The control operation may, for example, be a specific reference picture set for manipulated reference sub-pictures only; Further, Para. [0278] discloses that the decoded picture buffering process includes a sub-picture-sequence-wise buffering, which includes the marking of reconstructed sub-pictures.);
deriving a reference subpicture of the current subpicture based on the information on the reference picture set (Hannuksela: Para. [0291] discloses “reference sub-pictures for encoding and/or decoding the sub-picture are generated by extracting the area collocating with the current sub-picture from the reference pictures in the decoded picture buffer”; Para. [0420]: “A reference sub-picture … is generated by extracting an area from a reference picture in the decoded picture buffer”.); and
performing a reference marking process on the reference subpicture (Hannuksela: Para. [0278] discloses sub-picture-sequence-wise buffering includes marking of reconstructed sub-pictures as “used for reference” and “unused for reference”; Para. [0009] discloses the marking status of a manipulated reference sub-picture stored in the buffer can be controlled and Para. [0491] discloses pairing a manipulated reference sub-picture with the corresponding “source” reference sub-picture in its marking as “used for reference” or “unused for reference”.).
As per claim 2, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference marking process comprises a process of marking the reference subpicture as one of short-term reference, long-term reference or unused for reference (Hannuksela: Paras. [0009], [0496] disclose the reference sub-picture may include properties such as marking as 'used for short-term reference' or 'used for long-term reference' and its marking status (e.g. marking as “used for reference” and “unused for reference”) can be controlled.).
As per claim 3, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 2, wherein the reference subpicture is identified based on at least one of a layer identifier or a picture order count value, based on the reference subpicture being marked as a short-term reference picture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0122], [0128]-[0131], [0496] disclose a picture order count (POC) value may be used in the decoding process for reference picture list initialization, wherein the list can be generated using algorithms based on the POC and/or temporal sub-layer (which relates to the layer identifier) and that decoding syntax structures can cause pictures to be adaptively marked as “used for reference” or “unused for reference”. Further, some coding formats distinguish between short-term and long-term reference pictures, and the syntax structures indicate this marking.).
As per claim 4, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 2, wherein the reference subpicture is identified based on at least one of a layer identifier or a picture order count value, based on the reference subpicture being marked as a long-term reference picture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0496]-[0497] disclose that the external reference sub-picture includes Marking as “used for long-term reference” and that it may be pre-defined that the external reference sub-picture is treated as a long-term reference picture.).
As per claim 5, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 2, wherein the reference subpicture having the same layer identifier as the current picture is marked as unused for reference based on a current picture including the current subpicture being of a specific picture type (Hannuksela: Para. [0009] discloses that sub-picture marking status (e.g. marking as “used for reference” and “unused for reference”) can be controlled. Further, Para. [0312] discloses that for a “random-access sub-picture” [specific picture type] prediction “does not depend on any reference sub-picture (of the same sub-picture sequence) preceding the random-access sub-picture” and Para. [0343] discloses that “reference picture marking for a sub-picture sequence is independent of other sub-picture sequences,” which establishes the context of managing references having the same layer identifier (same sub-picture sequence).).
As per claim 6, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 5, wherein the specific picture type is a coded layer video sequence start (CLVSS) picture type (Hannuksela: Paras. [0156], [0506] disclose a specific picture type (SOS/RAP) that indicates the start of a sequence and allows for correct decoding without preceding pictures, which corresponds to the claimed “coded layer video sequence start (CLVSS) picture type”.).
As per claim 7, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference marking process is performed before decoding slice data for a first slice in the current subpicture (Hannuksela: Para. [0142] discloses coded image segments [slices] may comprise a header and a payload [slice data], wherein the header contains parameter values needed for decoding the payload, therefore the header is processed before decoding the slice data for a first slice. Further, Para. [0290] discloses the decoder reading the header (e.g., checking the tile address) to conclude a new access unit [reference marking process] has started for the current sub-picture when the syntax element value(s) related to picture order count differ from that of the previous sub-picture. Furthermore, Para. [0344] discloses syntax structures affecting reference picture marking are included in and/or referenced by sub-picture-specific data units, such as VCL NAL units for sub-pictures.).
As per claim 8, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference marking process is performed after decoding a slice header of a first slice in the current subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0290], [0296], [0343]-[0344] disclose syntax structures affecting reference picture marking are included in and/or referenced by sub-picture-specific data units (tile/slice headers) and determining the first image segment [first slice] or tile group of a sub-picture.).
As per claim 9, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference marking process for a first slice in the current subpicture is applied to only a collocated reference subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0275], [0343] disclose that the reference marking process is applied to the sub-picture sequence (which consists of collocated sub-pictures of the same spatial portion of a picture area) and is independent of other sequences [applied only to the collocated reference subpicture].).
As per claim 10, Hannuksela discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the reference subpicture comprises a collocated subpicture included in a reference picture (Hannuksela: Para. [0420] discloses a reference sub-picture to be used as input to the reference sub-picture manipulation process is generated by extracting an area from a reference picture, wherein the area is the area that collocates with the current sub-picture.).
As per claim 11, Hannuksela discloses an image encoding method performed by an image encoding apparatus (Hannuksela: Abstract), the image encoding method comprising:
deriving a reference picture set based on a reference subpicture of a current subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0275], [0295], [0491], [0493] disclose a current sub-picture is predicted using reconstructed sub-pictures as references and constructs [deriving] reference picture lists/sets based on these sub-pictures.);
performing a reference marking process on the reference subpicture (Hannuksela: Para. [0278] discloses sub-picture-sequence-wise buffering includes marking of reconstructed sub-pictures as “used for reference” and “unused for reference”; Para. [0009] discloses the marking status of a manipulated reference sub-picture stored in the buffer can be controlled and Para. [0491] discloses pairing a manipulated reference sub-picture with the corresponding “source” reference sub-picture in its marking as “used for reference” or “unused for reference”.); and
encoding information on the reference picture set of the current subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0011], [0012], [0492] disclose the encoder encodes a control operation, which may be a specific reference picture set for manipulated reference sub-pictures only and includes information in the bitstream indicative of the set of sub-pictures used/manipulated for reference.).
As per claim 12, Hannuksela discloses a method of transmitting a bitstream (Hannuksela: Abstract), the method comprising:
transmitting the bitstream generated by an image encoding method (Hannuksela: Paras. [0003], [0373], [0438] disclose an encoder that transforms an input video into a compressed representation suited for storage/transmission. Coded sub-picture sequences are encapsulated and made available for streaming [transmitting].),
wherein the image encoding method comprising:
deriving a reference picture set based on a reference subpicture of a current subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0275], [0295], [0491], [0493] disclose a current sub-picture is predicted using reconstructed sub-pictures as references and constructs [deriving] reference picture lists/sets based on these sub-pictures.);
performing a reference marking process on the reference subpicture (Hannuksela: Para. [0278] discloses sub-picture-sequence-wise buffering includes marking of reconstructed sub-pictures as “used for reference” and “unused for reference”; Para. [0009] discloses the marking status of a manipulated reference sub-picture stored in the buffer can be controlled and Para. [0491] discloses pairing a manipulated reference sub-picture with the corresponding “source” reference sub-picture in its marking as “used for reference” or “unused for reference”.); and
encoding information on the reference picture set of the current subpicture (Hannuksela: Paras. [0011], [0012], [0492] disclose the encoder encodes a control operation, which may be a specific reference picture set for manipulated reference sub-pictures only and includes information in the bitstream indicative of the set of sub-pictures used/manipulated for reference.).
As per claim 13, Hannuksela discloses a computer-readable recording medium storing a bitstream generated by the image encoding method of claim 11 (Hannuksela: Paras. [0054] and claim 15 disclose a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a bitstream generated by the image encoding method of claim 11.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2022/0239949 A1 - describes an apparatus, method, and computer program for video encoding and decoding, primarily focusing on techniques for efficient viewport-dependent streaming of omnidirectional or virtual reality (VR) content using independently decodable picture regions like tiles and slices.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 01-12-2025