CTNF 18/907,803 CTNF 79868 DETAILED ACTION 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. Double Patenting 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. 08-34 AIA Claim s 2-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim s 1-12 of U.S. Patent No. 12126985 . Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patent claims the same system claimed by the application: the receiver (application claim 1) is the means of performing the receiving step (patent claim 1) and the processor for performing 6dof audio rendering is the means of the decoding and rendering steps (patent claim 1) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 2-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Peters et al (US 20190116440 A1) . As per claims 2,12, Peters discloses a method for decoding a bitstream comprising an encoded audio signal data associated with three degrees of freedom (3DoF) audio rendering and metadata associated with six degrees of freedom (6DoF) audio rendering, the method comprising: a receiver for receiving a bitstream which comprises audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering in one or more first bitstream parts of the bitstream, (21 fig. 8a, para. 51 recites that 6DOF can be used where 6DOF comprises the encoded audio signal data of the 3DOF per para. 49 and also additional 6DOF metadata per para. 51, where the receiver received the cited bitstream), wherein the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering includes audio signals of one or more audio sources (any of the SHC data based on a microphone per para 24/25 and/or the coefficients A.sub.n.sup.m(k) for the soundfield corresponding to an individual audio object based on an audio object and/or the multichannel audio content per para 27 comprises channels/audio signals and/or per the MPEG-H 3d disclosure, where MPEG 3d comprises audio signal data as part of the bitstream per its standard and/or any of the non metadata/side information data used by any of the multiple different renderers per para 40; and/or the data in the bitstream used to recover the predominant audio signal 501 per para 74) (also and/or per para . 75: reassignment unit 502 may next, based on the side information 523 , determine whether each of the transport channels 501 specifies a predominant audio signal 503 ) , and further comprising metadata associated with 6DoF audio rendering in one or more second bitstream parts of the bitstream (via 306 the signal can be 6dof per para. 51: six degrees of freedom (6DOF), renders audio data in a manner that accounts for the three degrees of freedom in term of head movements (yaw, pitch, and roll) but also accounts for translation of the user in space (x, y, and z translations)); and and a processor for performing 6DoF audio rendering based on the received bitstream (each stage of block 16 requires at least one digital processor in order to be implemented as part of the rendering), wherein the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering is processed based on a transform function (the transform function applied by the complementary encoder (para 23 or 34), where the decoder performs an inverse functions to recover the defined portions of the bitstream 21; (the processing of block 16 to both recover the cited portions of and to process portions of the bitstream to render the audio out to 104), wherein the transform function maps or projects the audio signals of the one or more audio sources onto respective audio objects positioned on at least a sphere surrounding a default 3DoF listener position such that applying an inverse of the transform function permits to restore or approximate audio signals for 6DoF audio rendering (the decoder, stage 16 decodes/applies an inverse transform to that applied by the encoder, to the audio channels, objects, and metadata/side information which have been transformed by the encoder). Where the mapping of the signals from the bitstream is used in 6DOF audio rendering, which comprises audio objects rendered in at least a sphere around the listener of the headphones, noting the xyz coordinates per para 51 and also the audio object and the object location per para 25 in view of a common coordinate system when being used, comprises a sphere around the user in view of a soundfield representation of individual audio objects and their locations within the soundfield relative to a listener ) (Further noting the audio to be rendered comprises audio objects per para 25 and 117). As per claims 3,12, the system according to claim 2, wherein the audio signals of one or more audio sources comprises directional data of one or more audio objects and/or distance data of one or more audio objects (the object location is distance and direction in the context of a coordinate system for the soundfield per para 25, 26). As per claim 4,13, the system according to claim 2, further comprising receiving metadata associated with 6DoF audio rendering is indicative of the default 3DoF listener position (the rendering function in stage 16 requires input of the audio data to be rendered as particular sets of channels for output device 104, where the channels are indicative of the rendering speaker configuration which is indicative of the default user position as part of each configuration, such as headphones). As per claims 5,14, t he system according to claim 4, wherein the metadata associated with 6DoF audio rendering includes and/or is indicative of at least one of: a description of 6DoF space, optionally including object coordinates (the metadata is used to render the audio objects in a 6dof space per the claim 2 rejection); audio object directions of one or more audio objects; a virtual reality (VR) environment; and/or parameters relating to distance attenuation, occlusion, and/or reverberations (the alternative are not mapped). As per claims 6,15, The system according to claim 2, wherein the one or more first bitstream parts of the bitstream represent a payload of the bitstream, and the one or more second bitstream parts represent one or more extension containers of the bitstream (each separate cited element above exists in the bitstream in a defined location/extension container, noting the object data in each frame is a payload). As per claim 7,16, The system according to claim 2, wherein audio signal data associated with 6DoF audio rendering is generated by transforming the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering using the inverse of the transform function and the metadata associated with 6DoF audio rendering (per the decoding of the 3dof and 6dof data relative to the encoding as cited above, in view of the decoding function and encoder as cited above). As per claims 8,17, the system according to claim 2, further comprising performing 3DoF audio rendering based on the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering, wherein the rendering results in the same generated sound field as performing 6DoF audio rendering, at the default 3DoF listener position (per the decoding of the 3dof and 6dof data relative to the encoding as cited above noting both the 3dof and 3dof portions are decoded to the same sound field via the same common output device 104 and its sound field, where the configuration of the output device 104 itself determines the default 3dof listener position because its on the user’s head ). As per claims 9,18, wherein the bitstream is an MPEG-H 3D Audio bitstream or a bitstream using MPEG-H 3D Audio syntax (para. 70). As per claims 10,19, wherein the transform function is a parametrized transform function A (any of the functions performed by the encoder cited above), the parametrized transform function A based on environmental characteristics (the characteristics defining the virtual soundfield within which the audio object is rendered) (remaining alternative claim elements not mapped). As per claim 11, the system of the claim 2 rejection performs a method comprising: receiving a bitstream which comprises audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering in one or more first bitstream parts of the bitstream, wherein the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering includes audio signal data of one or more audio sources, and further comprising metadata associated with 6DoF audio rendering in one or more second bitstream parts of the bitstream; andperforming 6DoF audio rendering based on the received bitstream, wherein the audio signal data associated with 3DoF audio rendering is processed based on a transform function, wherein the transform function maps or projects the audio signals of the one or more audio sources onto respective audio objects positioned on at least a sphere surrounding a default 3DoF listener position such that applying an inverse of the transform function permits to restore or approximate audio signals for 6DoF audio rendering. (per claim 2 rejection). As per claim 20, A non-transitory computer program product including instructions that, when executed by one or more processor, cause the processor to execute the method of claim 11 ( the system and method of the claim 2 rejection requires software on nontransitory memory to implement the cited functions). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN whose telephone number is 571-272-7498, and whose email address is alexander.krzystan@uspto.gov The examiner can usually be reached on m-f 7:30-4:00 est. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone or email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fan Tsang can be reached on (571) 272-7547. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN whose telephone number is 571-272-7498, and whose email address is alexander.krzystan@uspto.gov The examiner can usually be reached on m-f 7:30-4:00 est. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone or email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Fan Tsang can be reached on (571) 272-7547. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and 571-273-8300 for After Final communications. /ALEXANDER KRZYSTAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2653 Examiner Alexander Krzystan May 21, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/907,803 Page 2 Art Unit: 2694
