Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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).
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Claims 1-5 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 6-10, respectively, of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,533. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims in the current application a decoding apparatus that is similar to the decoding apparatus of the patent. While the claims in the patent do not recite generating a residual block, transforming and quantizing residual block; it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention because it is well known in the art that during the intra prediction step of the encoder a residual block is created and transform coded. Therefore, Claims 1-5 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 6-10, respectively, of U.S. Patent No. 10,652,533.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the double patenting rejection set forth in this Office action.
In regards to claims 1-5, the prior art Karczewicz (US PgPub. No. 2004/0008771).
In regards to claims 1-5, Karczewicz teaches a video encoding method with an encoding apparatus, comprising: generating, with the encoding apparatus, a prediction block relating to a current block included in a video frame to be encoded by performing intra prediction; generating, with the encoding apparatus, a residual block of the current block; transforming, with the encoding apparatus, the residual block to generate transform coefficients; quantizing, with the encoding apparatus, the transform coefficients; encoding, with the encoding apparatus, the quantized transform coefficients; determining, with the encoding apparatus, an intra prediction mode of the current block; (See Karczewicz Figure 7 and paragraphs [0067]-[0068], Karczewicz teaches generating prediction block.)
obtaining, with the encoding apparatus, a first Most Probably Mode (MPM) candidate mode from at least one neighboring block adjacent to the current block; (Karczewicz discloses this in the abstract "… The first group includes n (where n is smaller than the overall number of available modes) most probable prediction modes...”)
generating, with the encoding apparatus, a MPM list based on the first MPM candidate mode; determining, with the encoding apparatus, a MPM flag using the MPM list, wherein the MPM flag indicates whether the MPM list includes a same MPM candidate mode as the intra prediction mode of the current block; (Karczewicz discloses this in the abstract “…This order may be specified as a list of modes ordered from most probable to the least probable mode…” where n is fixed.)
and encoding, with the encoding apparatus, the intra prediction mode of the current block by encoding the MPM flag, and (Karczewicz discloses this in the abstract “…The modes belonging to the second group may be ordered in some predetermined manner, which may be specified depending on the information already available to the decoder…”)
However, Karczewicz does not teach or suggest “wherein the MPM list includes a second MPM candidate mode, the second MPM candidate mode being representative of a directional prediction mode, the directional prediction mode corresponding to a value resulting from either adding one to a value of the first MPM candidate mode or subtracting one from the value of the first MPM candidate mode, and wherein the first MPM candidate mode is determined as a non-directional mode when prediction modes of the neighboring blocks are not available as a the intra prediction mode for the current block.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UTPAL D SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-5729. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30-5:30.
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/UTPAL D SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2668
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