DETAILED ACTION
1. This office action is in response to U.S. Patent Application No.: 18/936,602 filed on 11/4/2024 with effective filing date 9/15/2021. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
4. Claim(s) 1-3, 5-10, 12-17 & 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. US 2023/0291932 A1 in view of Choi et al. US 2022/0174271 A1.
Per claims 1, 8 & 15, Park et al. discloses a method of video decoding performed in a video decoder, the method comprising: receiving coded information of a current block in a current picture of a video from a coded video bitstream, the coded information indicating that the current block is an intra block copy (IBC) block (para: 99, e.g. IBC performs intra prediction of a current block by copying a reference block in the same frame using a block vector to generate a prediction block of the current block), the current block being divided into a plurality of partitions based on a geometric partition mode (GPM) (para: 128-130, e.g. the video encoding apparatus according to the present embodiment calculates a reference block vector at each vertex of the current block, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in terms of rate-distortion optimization. The intra predictor 122 in the video encoding apparatus applies a geometric transform to one or more block vectors among the calculated reference block vectors to calculate sub-block-vectors for each pixel or each group of pixels (e.g.. 4×4); deriving an intra prediction mode for a subblock from one of the plurality of partitions as an intra mode of a pixel positioned at a location of a reference subblock in a reference block (para: 44 & 181, e.g. The intra predictor 122 calculates sub-block-vectors for each pixel or each subblock of the current block using reference block vectors (S1504)), the reference subblock corresponding to the subblock of the current block being positioned at a same relative position in the reference block as the subblock in the current block (para: 183 & 185, e.g. the intra predictor 122 may use a different block vector rather than the sub-block-vectors for a partial area of the current block. Here, the different block vector may be one of the reference block vectors or a vector according to the average of two or more of the reference block vectors), the reference block being referenced by a block vector of the IBC block (para: 99-100, e.g. IBC performs intra prediction of a current block by copying a reference block in the same frame using a block vector to generate a prediction block of the current block; a block vector represents a displacement from a current block to a reference block. The video decoding apparatus performs intra prediction on the current block by generating a prediction block according to the information of a decoded block vector).
Park et al. fails to explicitly disclose storing the intra prediction mode for the subblock of the current block; determining that a neighboring block of the current block is an IBC block; and constructing a most probable mode (MPM) list for the neighboring block using the stored intra prediction mode for the subblock of the current block.
Choi et al. however in the same field of endeavor teaches storing the intra prediction mode for the subblock of the current block (para: 103, e.g. The memory 170 may store the motion information of the block from which the motion information in the current picture is derived (or encoded) and/or the motion information of the blocks in the picture that have already been reconstructed); determining that a neighboring block of the current block is an IBC block (para: 93, e.g. when IBC is applied, the location of the reference block in the current picture may be encoded as a vector (block vector) corresponding to the predetermined distance. IBC basically performs prediction in the current picture, but may be performed similarly to inter prediction in that a reference block is derived within the current picture); and constructing a most probable mode (MPM) list for the neighboring block using the stored intra prediction mode for the subblock of the current block (para: 145 & 355, e.g. he MPM candidate list may include an intra prediction mode of a neighboring block or a preset basic intra prediction mode. In addition, when the MPM is not applied to the current block, the intra prediction mode information may further include remaining mode information).
Therefore, in view of disclosures by Choi et al., it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to combine Park and Choi et al. in order to determine a most probable mode (MPM) candidate of the current block based on a prediction mode of a neighboring block located around a current block. The MPM list of the current block is generated based on the MPM candidate, and an MPM candidate is determined that is identified by an intra prediction mode indicator among multiple of MPM candidates included in the MPM list as a prediction mode of the current block.
Per claims 2, 9 & 16, Park et al. further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the subblock of the current block is a 4 by 4 pixel unit (para: 128, e.g. the intra predictor 122 in the video encoding apparatus applies a geometric transform to one or more block vectors among the calculated reference block vectors to calculate sub-block-vectors for each pixel or each group of pixels (e.g.4×4)).
Per claims 3, 10, & 17, Choi et al. further teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: indicating the intra prediction mode for the subblock as a candidate prediction mode in the MPM list for the neighboring block of the current block, the neighboring block being predicted by the IBC (para: 93 & 146, e.g. an MPM list for an MIP mode may be configured to determine the MIP mode of a current block. The MPM list for the MIP mode may be configured in a manner of configuring the above-described MPM list for the intra mode).
Per claims 5, 12 & 19, Choi et al. further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the stored subblock of the current block is a 4×4 luma block (para: 260 & table 3, e.g. luma block size Number of MIP modes 4x4 luma block).
Per claims 6, 13 & 20, Park et al. further teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising: partitioning the current block into the plurality of partitions that includes a first partition and a second partition, the first partition being predicted by IBC and the second partition being predicted by intra prediction, the subblock being positioned in the first partition that is predicted by the IBC (para: 128-130, e.g. the video encoding apparatus according to the present embodiment calculates a reference block vector at each vertex of the current block, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in terms of rate-distortion optimization. The intra predictor 122 in the video encoding apparatus applies a geometric transform to one or more block vectors among the calculated reference block vectors to calculate sub-block-vectors for each pixel or each group of pixels (e.g. 4×4).
Per claims 7 & 14, Park et al. further teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the reference block is within a geometric partition of the current block (para: 128).
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 4, 11 & 18 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.
Conclusion
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nakamura et al. US 2018/0249157 A1, e.g. in a case where a partition mode in which luma signals are partitioned horizontally and vertically is set when an intra prediction of a picture signal is made in units of minimal coding blocks set in advance, an intra prediction unit is configured to make an intra prediction of a chroma signal in units of prediction blocks of the intra prediction of chroma signals within the minimal coding block set in accordance with a chroma format. A second bitstream constructing unit constructs a bitstream of information relating to a luma intra prediction mode of a prediction block of luma signals and information relating to a chroma intra prediction mode of a prediction block of chroma signals.
Ahn US 2022/0360776 A1, e.g. an image encoding/decoding method and apparatus may reconstruct a current picture based on at least one of intra prediction and inter prediction, specify a block boundary to which a deblocking filter is applied in the reconstructed current picture, and apply a deblocking filter to a block boundary based on a filter type pre-defined in an encoding apparatus.
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/Irfan Habib/Examiner, Art Unit 2485