CTNF 18/882,285 CTNF 66123 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 08-33 AIA 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. 08-36 AIA Claim s 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim s 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 10,212,443 in view of SURTI et al (US 9,912,957) . Claims 21-40 of this application The US patent 10,212,443 21. A method to store color data generated by a graphics processing unit to a memory configured to store multiple sample locations per pixel, the method comprising: determining, within a hardware graphics rendering pipeline of the graphics processing unit, a set of sample color values associated with individual pixels of a scene; analyzing the set of sample color values for a first pixel of the scene; determining a first memory plane to allocate for the first pixel, wherein the first memory plane is a lowest order memory plane to be allocated for the first pixel, wherein the lowest order memory plane is a lowest plane number referenced by samples of the first pixel; and merging a memory plane allocation for the first pixel with the memory plane allocation for a second pixel, wherein the first memory plane is the lowest order memory plane to be allocated for the second pixel. 28. A method of performing planar multisample antialiasing on a graphics processor, the method comprising: Which is obvious in multisampling for a pixel; (Claim 29: analyzing color data for a set of sample locations of a first pixel) determining a first memory plane to allocate for a first pixel, the first memory plane a lowest order memory plane allocated for the first pixel, wherein the lowest order memory plane is a lowest numbered plane referenced by one or more sample locations of a pixel; merging a memory plane allocation for the first pixel with a memory plane allocation for a second pixel in response determining that the first memory plane is the lowest order memory plane to be allocated for the second pixel; and progressively allocating memory planes for the first pixel and the second pixel within a memory of the graphics processor. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein merging the memory plane allocation for the first pixel with the memory plane allocation for a second pixel enables allocation of memory for use by multiple pixels within a single cycle. Which is obvious since the multisample information is stored only on the single first memory plane. 23. The method of claim 21, additionally comprising compressing the set of sample color values for the first pixel. The data compression before storing is obvious for the purpose of saving storage space (Surti, claim 11). 24. The method of claim 23, wherein compressing the color data for the set of sample color values in the first pixel includes storing only unique color values in the color data. The avoiding of store a repeated value of sampled color is obvious to save the memory space (Surti, claim 12) 25. The method of claim 24, comprising mapping multiple sample locations of the set of sample color values in the first pixel to one or more memory planes storing the unique color values. Surti, claim 13. 26. The method of claim 24, comprising writing color data associated with the set of sample color values in the first pixel into the first memory plane, the first memory plane associated with a multisample render target. Which is obvious for rendering the collected multisample data stored in the first memory plane. 27. The method of claim 26, comprising caching color data associated with the set of sample color values to a multisample render cache configured to cache data associated with the multisample render target. Which is obvious for caching the data for rendering to accelerate visual output by storing pre-computed results. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein color data evicted from the multisample render cache is to be stored to the multisample render target. Which is obvious for providing the cached data for rendering. Claims 29-36 and 37-40 claim an apparatus and a data processing system based on the method of claims 21-28; therefore, they are rejected under a similar rationale. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHU K NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7645. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm. 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, Devona E Faulk can be reached at (571) 272-7515. 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. /PHU K NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616 Application/Control Number: 18/882,285 Page 2 Art Unit: 2616 Application/Control Number: 18/882,285 Page 3 Art Unit: 2616 Application/Control Number: 18/882,285 Page 4 Art Unit: 2616
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