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 Interpretation
Non-Functional Descriptive Material
Claim 11 recites “A non-transitory computer readable medium storing bitstream generated by a method”. There is no recitation of instruction stored on the CRM and when the instructions are executed by processor perform the method—merely data content (bitstream of video data generated by a recited method). Under MPEP 2111.05/(III), these claims are merely machine- readable media. The Examiner finds that there is no disclosed or claimed functional relationship between the stored data and medium. Instead, the medium is merely a support or carrier for the data being stored. Therefore, the data stored and the way such data is generated should not be given patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.05 applying n re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d 1031, 1035 (Fed. Cir. 1994) and In re Ngai, 367 F.3d 1336, 70 USPQ2d 1862 (Fed. Cir. 2004). As such, claim 11 is subject to a prior art rejection based on any non- transitory computer readable medium known before the earliest effective filing date of the present application.
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.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. Claim 10 is directed to a method of transmitting a
bitstream without reciting any steps. Although, the claim recites "the bitstream being generated
by a video encoding method," this does not clearly constitute steps performed by the claimed method of transmitting a bitstream since the step of generating the bitstream is not recited in the claim and the bitstream may be generated and stored by the encoding method at different time, and thus claim 10 would only be limited to transmitting the stored bitstream without performing
the steps of the encoding method claim. Therefore, in addition to the steps of the encoding method, the steps of generating and transmitting the bitstream, which are essential, are omitted. Omitting these steps renders the claim incomplete. The examiner suggests amending the claim by including the steps of generating and transmitting the bitstream in addition to all the steps of the encoding method.
For the purpose of prior art rejection, claim 10 is interpreted to cover any method of
transmitting a bitstream.
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.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because a broad but reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and also transitory propagating signals in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media. See MPEP 2111.01. When the broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim covers a signal, the claim must be rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter. See Interim Examination Instructions for Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. § 101, Aug. 24, 2009; p. 2 and see Official Gazette Notice: Subject Matter Eligibility of Computer Readable Media (26Jan2010) 1351 OG 212 23FEB2010. A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation “non-transitory” to the claim.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang et al (US 20230031540).
As to claim 1, Wang discloses an image decoding method performed by an image decoding apparatus (see [0081]), the image decoding apparatus comprising:
obtaining first information of a virtual boundary from a bitstream (see [0093]-[0094], gdr_virtual_boundaries_treated_as_pic_boundaries_flag);
determining whether a virtual boundary of a reference picture is treated as a picture
boundary based on the first information (see [0094]); and
padding some areas in the reference picture, based on the virtual boundary of the
reference picture being treated as a picture boundary (see [0099]).
As to claim 2, Wang further discloses wherein a right area or a left area
from the virtual boundary of the reference picture is padded, based on the virtual boundary of the reference picture being a vertical virtual boundary (FIG. 5 and [0096]: v For vertical gdr applications, the virtual boundary is vertical and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area).
As to claim 3, Wang further discloses wherein the right area is padded,
based on a refreshed area being located to the left of the virtual boundary of the reference picture (FIG. 5 and [0096]: For vertical gdr applications, the virtual boundary is vertical and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area; the clean area can be on the left or on the right).
As to claim 4, Wang further discloses wherein the left area is padded, based on a refreshed area being located to the right of the virtual boundary of the reference picture (FIG. 5 and [0096]: For vertical gdr applications, the virtual boundary is vertical and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area; the clean area can be on the left or on the right).
As to claim 5, Wang further discloses wherein an upper area or a lower
area from the virtual boundary of the reference picture is padded, based on the virtual boundary
of the reference picture being a horizontal virtual boundary (FIG. 5 and [0097]: For horizontal gdr applications, the virtual boundary is horizontal and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area).
As to claim 6, Wang further discloses wherein the lower area is padded, based on a refreshed area being located above the virtual boundary of the reference picture (FIG. 5 and [0097]: For horizontal gdr applications, the virtual boundary is horizontal and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area; the clean area can be above or below).
As to claim 7, Wang further discloses wherein the upper area is padded, based on a refreshed area being located below the virtual boundary of the reference picture (FIG. 5 and [0097]: For horizontal gdr applications, the virtual boundary is horizontal and a reference picture for CUs in a clean area, where the reconstructed pixels in a dirty area are padded from the reconstructed pixels in the clean area; the clean area can be above or below).
As to claim 8, Wang further discloses wherein the first information is
obtained, based on a gradual decoding refresh (GDR) picture being enabled (see [0093], gdr_enabled_flag).
As to claim 9, Wang discloses an image encoding method performed by an image encoding apparatus (see [0078]), the image encoding method comprising:
determining whether a virtual boundary of a reference picture is treated as a picture
boundary (see [0094]); and
padding some areas in the reference picture, based on the virtual boundary of the
reference picture being treated as the picture boundary (see [0099]),
wherein first information indicating whether the virtual boundary of the reference picture is treated as the picture boundary is encoded in a bitstream (see [0091]-[0093], signaling can be achieved with syntax structures such as sequence parameters set (SPS) … gdr_virtual_boundaries_treated_as_pic_boundaries_flag is added in SPS syntax table).
As to claim 10, Wang discloses a method of transmitting a bitstream generated by an image encoding method (see [0057]), the image encoding method comprising:
determining whether a virtual boundary of a reference picture is treated as a picture
boundary (see [0094]); and
padding some areas in the reference picture, based on the virtual boundary of the
reference picture being treated as the picture boundary (see [0099]),
wherein first information indicating whether the virtual boundary of the reference picture is treated as the picture boundary is encoded in a bitstream (see [0091]-[0093], signaling can be achieved with syntax structures such as sequence parameters set (SPS) … gdr_virtual_boundaries_treated_as_pic_boundaries_flag is added in SPS syntax table).
As to claim 11, a bitstream generated by a method, the method comprising… is a product by process claim limitation where the product is the bit stream and the process is the method steps to generate the bitstream. MPEP §2113 recites “Product-by-Process claims are not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps”. Thus, the scope of the claim is the storage medium storing the bitstream (with the structure implied by the method steps). The structure includes the information and samples manipulated by the steps.
“To be given patentable weight, the printed matter and associated product must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the printed matter performs some function with respect to the product to which it is associated”. MPEP §2111.05(I)(A). When a claimed “computer-readable medium merely serves as a support for information or data, no functional relationship exists. MPEP §2111.05(III). The storage medium storing the claimed bitstream in claim 18 merely services as a support for the storage of the bitstream and provides no fictional relationship between the stored bitstream and storage medium. Therefor the structure bitstream, which scope is implied by the method steps, is non-functional descriptive material and given no patentable weight. MPEP §2111.05(III). Thus, the claim scope is just a storage medium storing data and is anticipated by Wang which recites a storage medium storing a bitstream (see [0005] and [0057]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BOUBACAR ABDOU TCHOUSSOU whose telephone number is (571)272-7625. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-4pm.
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/BOUBACAR ABDOU TCHOUSSOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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