Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/924,612

ENCODING DEVICE, DECODING DEVICE AND PROGRAM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 23, 2024
Examiner
ZHOU, ZHIHAN
Art Unit
2482
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Nippon Hoso Kyokai
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
81%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
784 granted / 987 resolved
+21.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+1.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
1015
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.4%
-34.6% vs TC avg
§103
54.8%
+14.8% vs TC avg
§102
18.5%
-21.5% vs TC avg
§112
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 987 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . DETAILED ACTION This office action is in response to a continuation application filed in which claims 1-4 of the instant application are pending and ready for examination. Claim Objections Claim 4 is objected to because “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon,” should read “A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon,”. 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. Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (“AHG12: Signaling of chroma presence in PPS and APS”) in view of Lai (US 2022/0094936). As to claim 1, Li teaches an encoding device comprising: a quantizer configured to perform a quantization process; a loop filter configured to perform an adaptive loop filter process; and an entropy encoder configured to output a bit stream including an adaptive parameter set (Page 1, Section 1; also see Pages 2-3, Table 2), wherein the adaptive parameter set includes encoding tool type information indicating which parameter of parameter candidates including one of a scaling list parameter including a parameter of a scaling list that controls the quantization process and an adaptive loop filter parameter including a parameter of a filter coefficient used in the adaptive loop filter process is included in the adaptive parameter set (Page 1, Section 1; also see Pages 2-3, Table 2), and a chrominance parameter present flag indicating whether or not a parameter for a chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set (Pages 2-3, Table 2), and the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the adaptive loop filter parameter (Pages 2-3, Table 2). Li does not teach wherein the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the scaling list parameter, wherein when the encoding tool type information indicating the scaling list parameter, the entropy encoder is configured to: in response to including, into the adaptive parameter set, the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set, output the adaptive parameter set not including a parameter of scaling list for chrominance signal, in response to including, into the adaptive parameter set, the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set, output the adaptive parameter set including a scaling list parameter for chrominance signal. However, Lai teaches wherein the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the scaling list parameter, wherein when the encoding tool type information indicating the scaling list parameter, the entropy encoder is configured to ([0128] and Table 7 where it is stated that the aps_type is equal to SCALING_LIST; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 1 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is present in the APS; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is not present in the APS; one example of the scaling matrices for chroma is the syntax element scaling_list_copy_mode_flag[id]): in response to including, into the adaptive parameter set, the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set, output the adaptive parameter set not including a parameter of scaling list for chrominance signal ([0128] and Table 7; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is not present in the APS; further see [0132] where it is stated that the scaling matrices APSs with aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 only can be referenced by other dependent video layer not including chroma component and [0133] where it is stated that the scaling matrices APSs with aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 cannot be referenced by other video layers with chroma components), in response to including, into the adaptive parameter set, the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set, output the adaptive parameter set including a scaling list parameter for chrominance signal ([0128] and Table 7; if aps_chroma_param_present_flag is equal to 1, scaling_list_copy_mode_flag[id] is signaled). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Li’s system with Lai’s system in order to provide more flexible and efficient video coding techniques. As to claim 2, Li teaches a decoding device comprising: an entropy decoder configured to acquire a bit stream including an adaptive parameter set; an inverse quantizer configured to perform an inverse quantization process; and a loop filter configured to perform an adaptive loop filter process (Page 1, Section 1; also see Pages 2-3, Table 2), wherein the adaptive parameter set includes encoding tool type information indicating which parameter of parameter candidates including one of a scaling list parameter including a parameter of a scaling list that controls the inverse quantization process and an adaptive loop filter parameter including a parameter of a filter coefficient used in the adaptive loop filter process is included in the adaptive parameter set (Page 1, Section 1; also see Pages 2-3, Table 2), and a chrominance parameter present flag indicating whether or not a parameter for a chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set (Pages 2-3, Table 2), and the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the adaptive loop filter parameter (Pages 2-3, Table 2). Li does not teach wherein the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the scaling list parameter, wherein when the encoding tool type information indicating the scaling list parameter, the entropy decoder is configured to: in response to including the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set, interpret that a parameter of scaling list for chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set, in response to the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set, interpret that the parameter of scaling list parameter for chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set. However, Lai teaches wherein the chrominance parameter present flag is applied in common to the scaling list parameter, wherein when the encoding tool type information indicating the scaling list parameter, the entropy decoder is configured to ([0128] and Table 7 where it is stated that the aps_type is equal to SCALING_LIST; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 1 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is present in the APS; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is not present in the APS; one example of the scaling matrices for chroma is the syntax element scaling_list_copy_mode_flag[id]): in response to including the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set, interpret that a parameter of scaling list for chrominance signal is not present in the adaptive parameter set ([0128] and Table 7; aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that the scaling matrices for chroma is not present in the APS; further see [0132] where it is stated that the scaling matrices APSs with aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 only can be referenced by other dependent video layer not including chroma component and [0133] where it is stated that the scaling matrices APSs with aps_chroma_param_present_flag equal to 0 cannot be referenced by other video layers with chroma components), in response to the chrominance parameter present flag indicating that the parameter for the chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set, interpret that the parameter of scaling list parameter for chrominance signal is present in the adaptive parameter set ([0128] and Table 7; if aps_chroma_param_present_flag is equal to 1, scaling_list_copy_mode_flag[id] is signaled). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Li’s system with Lai’s system in order to provide more flexible and efficient video coding techniques. As to claim 3, the combination of Li and Lai teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program causes a computer to function as the encoding device according to claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1). As to claim 4, the combination of Li and Lai teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program causes a computer to function as the decoding device according to claim 2 (see rejection for claim 2). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHIHAN ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)270-7284. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Fridays 8:30am-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, Christopher Kelley can be reached on 571-272-7331. 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. /ZHIHAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 23, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
81%
With Interview (+1.3%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 987 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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