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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 2-9, 11-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 10/24/25.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 10 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2022/0217399 A1 (“Liang”) in view of US 2024/0223797 A1 (“Chen”) (Note: the Foreign Priority KR 10-2023-0033381 is the earliest priority, filed 3/14/2023, that appears to provide support to the claims).
Regarding claim 1, Liang discloses a method performed by a video decoding device for predicting a target block, the method comprising:
obtaining mirror prediction information for the target block (e.g. see current block, e.g. shown as Cur_blk in Fig. 1, paragraphs [0117]-[0125]; also discussed with more details in Fig. 11, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]) based on a bitstream (e.g. see parse a bitstream to obtain mode information of an intra block copy-mirror mode S401 in Fig. 10, paragraphs [0117]-[0125]; also discussed with more details in Fig. 11, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]), the mirror prediction information comprising a block vector of the target block (e.g. see obtain a valid block vector of a current block in S501 in Fig. 11, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]) and a flip type indicating one of a horizontal flip and a vertical flip (e.g. see mode information includes two flags CU.mirrorFlag and CU.mirrorType, paragraphs [0117]-[0125]; also discussed with more details in Fig. 11, e.g. see 502, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]);
obtaining a reference block based on the block vector of the target block (e.g. see obtain a position of the reference block and the first sample value of the reference block according to the valid block vector S504, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]); and
reconstructing the target block by flipping the reference block (e.g. see construct the prediction block of the current block by performing mirror transform on the reference block according to the position and the first sample value of the reference block S505, paragraphs [0126]-[0148]).
Although Liang discloses the flip type and the block vector, it is noted Liang differs from the present invention in that it fails to particularly disclose wherein, based on the flip type, information on one component among a vertical component and a horizontal component of the block vector is not included in the bitstream, and the one component is set to be equal to 0. Chen however, teaches wherein, based on the flip type, information on one component among a vertical component and a horizontal component of the block vector is not included in the bitstream, and the one component is set to be equal to 0 (e.g. see considering the horizontal or vertical symmetry, the current block and the reference block are normally aligned horizontally or vertically… when horizontal flip is applied, the vertical component of the BV is not signaled and inferred to be equal 0. Similarly, the horizontal component of the BV is not signaled and inferred to be equal to 0 when a vertical flip is applied, paragraph [0091]).
Therefore, given the teachings as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the references of Liang and Chen before him/her, to modify the Prediction method for current block and electronic device of Liang with the teachings of Chen in order to improve video encoding/decoding of video by taking into account symmetry to efficiently signal information.
Regarding claims 10 and 15, the claims recite analogous limitations to the claim above and are therefore rejected on the same premise.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10 and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20240236314 A1, Wang et al., FILTERING APPLIED TO PREDICTION IN VIDEO CODING
US 2023/0217037 A1, Ruiz Coll et al., Adaptive reordering of adjusted block vector predictor candidates
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANCIS G GEROLEO whose telephone number is (571)270-7206. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 am - 3:30 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, Anna M Momper can be reached at (571) 270-5788. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Francis Geroleo/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
