DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is a response to an application filed on 10/15/2024, in which claims 1-20 are pending and ready for examination.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted was filed before the mailing date of the Office Action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
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 §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The 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/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-2, 10-14, and 16-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-2, 4, 9 of U.S. Patent No. 11616983 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other based on the table outlined below.
Instant - 18916112
US Pat – 12149740 B2
Claim 17 - A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a video bitstream that is generated by a video encoding method, the method comprising:
obtaining video data comprising a plurality of video frames, including a current video frame that includes a Cb color component and a Cr color component;
Claim 1 - A method of encoding a video bitstream using at least one processor, the method comprising:
obtaining video data comprising a plurality of video frames, including a current video frame that includes a Cb color component and a Cr color component;
obtaining residual blocks for each of the Cb color component and the Cr color component;
obtaining residual blocks for each of the Cb color component and the Cr color component;
obtaining Cb and Cr transform blocks by performing respective primary transforms on each of the residual blocks;
obtaining residual blocks for each of the Cb color component and the Cr color component;
obtaining Cb and Cr transform blocks by performing respective primary transforms on each of the residual blocks;
generating joint components secondary transform (JCST) outputs by applying, on an element-by-element basis, a JCST to the Cb and Cr transform blocks, wherein the JCST is a two-point transform performed on co-located pairs of Cb and Cr transform values in the Cb and Cr transform blocks, and wherein, for each co-located pair of Cb and Cr transform values, the Cb transform value is located at the same coordinates in the Cb transform block as the Cr transform value is in the Cr transform block;
obtaining transform coefficients by performing a quantization on the JCST outputs; and
encoding the transform coefficients into the video bitstream.
applying, on an element-by-element basis, a joint components secondary transform (JCST) to the Cb and Cr transform blocks to generate JCST outputs, wherein the JCST is a two-point transform performed on co-located pairs of Cb and Cr transform values in the Cb and Cr transform blocks, wherein, for each co-located pair of Cb and Cr transform values, the Cb transform value is located at the same coordinates in the Cb transform block as the Cr transform value is in the Cr transform block;
obtaining transform coefficients by performing a quantization on the JCST outputs;
encoding the transform coefficients; and transmitting the encoded transform coefficients in a video bitstream.
Claim 18 -the video bitstream comprises a JCST flag that indicates whether the JCST is to be applied to the Cb and Cr transform blocks.
Claim 4 - signaling a JCST flag that indicates whether the JCST is to be applied to the Cb and Cr transform blocks.
Claim 19 - wherein the video bitstream comprises Y, Cb, and Cr color components.
Claim 2 - wherein the current video frame includes include Y, Cb, and Cr color components.
Claim 20 - wherein the JCST comprises at least one of: a Hadamard transform, a discrete cosine transform, a discrete sine transform, and a data-driven transform.
Claim 9 - wherein the JCST comprises at least one of: a Hadamard transform, a discrete cosine transform, a discrete sine transform, and a data-driven transform.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other, because claims 17-20 of the instant application differs from claims 1-2, 4, 9 of US Pat 12149740 B2 in that the instant application recite an extras-solution element of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a video bitstream. However, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the pertinent art at the time of the invention to adapt the extra-solution element to perform the video coding method as recited.
Claims 1-2, 10, and 14 are directed to a method of video decoding performed by a computer system, the method comprising a sequence of processing steps that are in symmetrical/reciprocal manner with the steps corresponding to the same as claimed in claims 17-18, 19-20, and are non-patentable over the prior art for the same reason as outlined in the table above.
Claims 16 is directed to a computing system, comprising a sequence of processing steps that are in symmetrical/reciprocal manner with the steps corresponding to the same as claimed in claims 17, and are non-patentable over the prior art for the same reason as outlined in the table above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-9, 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 1-2, 10-14, and 17-20 would be allowable provided that all outstanding issues, objections, and/or requirements have been properly addressed.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhao (US Pat. 11206428 B1) teaches a video coding system that performs joint component secondary transform.
Kanoh (US Pat. 11184612 B2) teaches a video coding system that uses a transform basis determined from one or more transform basis candidates.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBERT KIR whose telephone number is (571)272-6245. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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/ALBERT KIR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485