DETAILED ACTIONNotice 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 .
Applicant Response to Official Action
The response filed on 3/2/2026 has been entered and made of record.
Acknowledgment
Claims 1, 6, 11, amended on 3/2/2026, are acknowledged by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3 have been considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by amendments initiated by the applicant. Examiner addresses the main arguments of the Applicant as below.
Regarding the drawing objection, the argument filed on 3/2/2026 is not persuasive. For instance, the drawing objection stated that “the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs” must be shown. However, in the Remarks the Applicant explained, “S4004 of FIG. 40 represents that there is a group of MPM candidates among all the intra-prediction modes available for the current encoding block, and S4005 of FIG. 40 represents that there is a group of residual intra-prediction modes excluding intra-prediction modes set as the MPM candidates among all the intra- prediction modes available for the current encoding block. Therefore, the applicants believes that the limitation "the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block are classified into a plurality of groups" is shown by FIG. 40”. However, Step S4004 of Fig. 40 only shows an “encoding MPM index” and Step S4005 of Fig. 40 only shows an “encoding residual mode information”, but they are not “the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs”. As a result, the drawing objection is maintained.
Regarding the Double Patenting rejections, the Applicant filed a terminal disclaimer on 3/2/2026. As a result, the Double Patenting rejections are withdrawn.
Regarding the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection, the amendment filed on 3/2/2026 addresses the issue. As a result, the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection is withdrawn.
Regarding the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection, the amendment filed on 3/2/2026 addresses the issue. As a result, the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection is withdrawn.
Objections
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, “the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block are classified into a plurality of groups” , “the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs” must be shown or the feature(s) must be canceled from the claims 1-3. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 of this title, 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.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a), the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned at the time any inventions covered therein were made absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and invention dates of each claim that was not commonly owned at the time a later invention was made in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) and potential pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g) prior art under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a).
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao (US Patent 10,142,627 B2), (“Zhao”), in view of Lee et al. (US Patent 11,259,047 B2), (“Lee”).
Regarding claim 1, Zhao meets the claim limitations as follow.
A method of decoding an image (a method of decoding a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 2, line 24-25] by an image decoding device (video decoder) [Zhao: col. 4, line 15-16; Fig. 7], the method comprising: receiving (receive) [Zhao: col. 6, line 21; Figs. 1, 7] a bitstream (encoded bitstream) [Zhao: col. 8, line 44; Fig. 7] including a coded picture of the image (receive encoded video data from source device via a channel) [Zhao: col. 6, line 21-22; Figs. 1, 7]; deriving ((decode) [Zhao: col. 35, line 65]; (deriving) [Zhao: col. 24, line 10]) an intra prediction mode of a current coding block in the coded picture (decode syntax information that indicates a selected intra prediction mode for a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 35, line 65-67] among intra prediction modes available for the current coding block ((deriving M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes) [Zhao: col. 24, line 10-11]; (determines the context based on both intra prediction modes for one or more blocks as well as size information for the current block) [Zhao: col. 12, line 45-47; Figs. 1, 7]; and performing, based on the derived intra prediction mode (calculate a value of the respective sample by applying an N-tap intra interpolation filter to neighboring reconstructed samples) [Zhao: col. 34 line 1-5; Figs. 1, 7], intra prediction (i.e. intra prediction processing unit 126 may generate predictive blocks for the PU using a particular set of samples from neighboring blocks) [Zhao: col. 39, line 62-64] to generate a prediction block of the current coding block ((i.e. generating a prediction sample for a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 4, line 6-7; Figs. 4-5]; (i.e. video decoder 30 may reconstruct the block of video data according to the selected intra prediction mode and the one or more additional intra prediction modes. For instance, video decoder 30 may reconstruct a CU containing the block based on residual data for the CU and a predictive block for the block generated based on the selected intra prediction mode and the one or more additional intra prediction modes) [Zhao: col. 36, line 5-12]), wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block (intra prediction modes for one or more blocks as well as size information for the current block) [Zhao: col. 12, line 45-47; Figs. 1, 7] are classified into a plurality of groups ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44] – Note: Zhao discloses that his invention can divide the most probable modes (MPMs) into groups of M or more MPMs; (the derivation process for the MPMs of the current PU includes a derivation process for a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeA) for a left neighboring column and a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeB) for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 50, line 39-43] – Note: Zhao discloses that the intra prediction modes in his invention can be classified into several groups. For example, one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the left column (candintraPredModeA), one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the above neighboring row (candintraPredModeB), and other group(s) for other locations), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44], wherein deriving the intra prediction mode of the current coding block comprises (derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-41]: obtaining, from the bitstream (i.e. obtain a prev intra_pred_flag from a bitstream) [Zhao: col. 25, line 7-8], one or more flags specifying a group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs among the plurality of the groups (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63]; determining, based on the one or more flags (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63], the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs (The MPM index indicates which of the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode. The non-MPM index indicates which of the plurality of intra prediction modes other than the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 25, line 8-12]; and deriving the intra prediction mode of the current coding block (video decoder 30 may decode syntax information that indicates a selected intra prediction mode for a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 35, line 65-67] based on the determined group ((candModeList[0] = candlntraPredModeA; candModeList[1] = candlntraPredModeB) [Zhao: col. 48, line 55-57] ; (candModeList[3] = 2 + (( candlntraPredModeA + 29 )%32); (candModeList[4] = 2 + (( candlntraPredModeA - 1 )%32)) [Zhao: col. 49, line 29-31] – Note: These equations demonstrate how Zhao’s invention calculate the intra prediction modes from the determined groups), wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups, and wherein the current coding block is obtained by dividing a current picture (a video slice (i.e., a video frame or a portion of a video frame) may be partitioned into video blocks. Video blocks in an intra-coded (I) slice of a picture are encoded using spatial prediction with respect to reference samples in neighboring blocks in the same picture) [Zhao: col. 1, line 35-40] based on partitioning information signaled from the bitstream (As part of encoding a CTU, prediction processing unit 100 may perform quad-tree partitioning to divide the CTBs of the CTU into progressively-smaller blocks. The smaller blocks may be coding blocks of CUs. For example, prediction processing unit 100 may partition a CTB associated with a CTU into four equally-sized subblocks, partition one or more of the sub-blocks into four equally-sized sub-sub-blocks, and so on) [Zhao: col. 39, line 22-29], the partitioning information indicating one of a plurality of partitioning techniques that determines a number of partitioned blocks (Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PUs having various sizes. As indicated above, the size of a CU may refer to the size of the luma coding block of the CU and the size of a PU may refer to the size of a luma prediction block of the PU. Assuming that the size of a particular CU is 2N x2N, video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PU sizes of 2Nx2N or NxN for intra prediction, and symmetric PU sizes of 2Nx2N, 2NxN, Nx2N, NxN, or similar for inter prediction. Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may also support asymmetric partitioning for PU sizes of 2NxnU, 2NxnD, nLx2N, and nRx2N for inter prediction) [Zhao: col. 39, line 36-47]; (A CU may comprise a coding block of luma samples and two corresponding coding blocks of chroma samples of a picture that has a luma sample array, a Cb sample array, and a Cr sample array, and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding blocks. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a CU may comprise a single coding block and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding block) [Zhao: col. 9, line 25-36; Figs. 1, 7]),wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (a list of N intra prediction mode candidates) [Zhao: col. 37, line 14; Figs. 10-21],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the TR (50) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 4),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50), a bottom-left reconstructed sample BL (52)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the BL (52) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 4).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose the following claim limitations (Emphasis added).
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lee further discloses the deficient claim limitations as follows:
wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block are classified into a plurality of groups ((a method for deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block using a plurality of MPM candidate 20 groups) [Lee: col. 32, line 18-20]; (FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (A number of MPM candidate groups used to derive an intra-prediction mode of a current block is not limited to the examples described) [Lee: col. 35, line 1-4]), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (When a third MPM candidate group includes 16 MPM candidates, information (e.g., '3rd_mpm_idx') for identifying MPM candidate included in a third MPM candidate group may be encoded as a fixed length of 4 bits) [Lee: col. 34, line 57-60],
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block (a plurality of MPM candidate groups may be determined based on information signaled in units of a sequence, a picture, a slice, a unit to be encoded/decoded. Here, the information may be information indicating a maximum number of MPM candidates or flag information indicating whether to use a plurality of MPM
candidate groups) [Lee: col. 35, line 7-17; col. 14, line 40-58; col. 33, line 28-44] is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups (Here, the intra prediction mode having similar directionality may be determined bysubtracting a predetermined constant value to or from the intra prediction mode of the neighboring block. The predetermined constant value may be an integer, such as one, two, or more) [Lee: col. 14, line 32-36].
wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (generation of the plurality of MPM candidates may comprise generating a first MPM candidate group, and generating a second MPM
candidate group) [Lee: col. 2, line 26-29; Figs. 6],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (a horizontal direction provisional prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a top right comer of the current block and a reference sample having y coordinate identical to the horizontal direction provisional prediction sample) [Lee: col. 36, line 33-38; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(3, -1) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 6),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (a vertical direction provisional
prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a bottom left corner of the current block and a reference sample having x coordinate identical to the vertical direction provisional prediction sample.) [Lee: col. 36, line 38-43; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(-1, 3) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 6).
It would have been obvious to one with an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Zhao with Lee to program the system to implement of Lee’s method.
Therefore, the combination of Zhao with Lee will enable the system to perform an efficient intra prediction [ Lee: col. 3, line 36-38].
Regarding claims 2 and 7, Zhao meets the claim limitations as set forth in claims 1 and 6. Zhao further meets the claim limitations as follow.
wherein one of the groups includes only five MPM (most probable mode) candidates for the intra prediction of the current coding block ((The MPM index indicates which of the
M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 58, line 21-22; Figs. 1, 6]; (i.e. The value of rem_intra_luma_pred_mode [xPb][yPb] could be 0, 1, ... , 31) [Zhao: col. 18, line 8-9; Fig. 10-17]).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose the following claim limitations (Emphasis added).
wherein one of the groups includes only five MPM (most probable mode) candidates for the intra prediction of the current coding block.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lee further discloses the deficient claim limitations as follows:
wherein one of the groups includes only five MPM (most probable mode) candidates for the intra prediction of the current coding block (The maximum number of candidates that can be included in the candidate list may be three, four, five, six, or more. The maximum number of candidates that can be included in the candidate list may be a fixed value preset in the device for encoding/decoding a video, or may be variably determined based on a characteristic of the current block) [Lee: col. 14, line 43-48].
It would have been obvious to one with an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Zhao with Lee to program the system to implement of Lee’s method.
Therefore, the combination of Zhao with Lee will enable the system to perform an efficient intra prediction [ Lee: col. 3, line 36-38].
Regarding claims 3 and 8, Zhao meets the claim limitations as set forth in claims 2 and 7. Zhao further meets the claim limitations as follow.
wherein the MPM candidates (The MPM index indicates which of the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 58, line 21-22; Figs. 1, 6] are derived based on an intra prediction mode of a neighboring block adjacent to the current coding block (derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44], and wherein the neighboring block includes at least one of a left neighboring block or a top neighboring block of the current coding block ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44]; (the derivation process for the MPMs of the current PU includes a derivation process for a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeA) for a left neighboring column and a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeB) for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 50, line 39-43] – Note: Zhao discloses that the intra prediction modes in his invention can be classified into several groups. For example, one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the left column (candintraPredModeA), one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the above neighboring row (candintraPredModeB), and other group(s) for other locations).
Regarding claims 4 and 9, Zhao meets the claim limitations as set forth in claims 3 and 8. Zhao further meets the claim limitations as follow.
wherein the top neighboring block is representative of a right-most block of top neighboring blocks adjacent to the current coding block (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50), a bottom-left reconstructed sample BL (52), and the two reconstructed samples (54, 56) located at the same columm (rx,-1) and row (r- 1, y) of the current sample, as illustrated in FIG. 4) [Zhao: col. 15, line 47-54; Figs 4] Note: It is clear from Figure 4 that the top-right block TR (50) is the right-most block of top neighboring blocks adjacent to the current coding block).
Regarding claims 5 and 10, Zhao meets the claim limitations as set forth in claims 3 and 8. Zhao further meets the claim limitations as follow.
wherein the left neighboring block is representative of a bottom-most block of left neighboring blocks adjacent to the current coding block. (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50), a bottom-left reconstructed sample BL (52), and the two reconstructed samples (54, 56) located at the same columm (rx,-1) and row (r- 1, y) of the current sample, as illustrated in FIG. 4) [Zhao: col. 15, line 47-54; Figs 4] Note: It is clear from Figure 4 that the bottom-left block BL (53) is the bottom-most block of left neighboring blocks adjacent to the current coding block).
Regarding claim 6, Zhao meets the claim limitations as follow.
A method of encoding an image (a method of encoding a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 2, line 4-5; Figs. 1, 6] by an image encoding device (video encoder) [Zhao: col. 4, line 11-12; Fig. 6], the method comprising: receiving a picture of the image (receive video from a video content provider) [Zhao: col. 8, line 15; Figs. 1, 6]; and performing (calculate a value of the respective sample by applying an N-tap intra interpolation filter to neighboring reconstructed samples) [Zhao: col. 34 line 1-5; Figs. 1, 7], based on an intra prediction mode (selected intra prediction mode of the plurality of intra prediction modes for intra prediction of the block of video data) [Zhao: col. 3, line 2-5; Figs. 8-9], intra prediction to generate a prediction block of a current coding block in the picture ((i.e. intra prediction processing unit 126 may generate predictive blocks for the PU using a particular set of samples from neighboring blocks) [Zhao: col. 39, line 62-64]; (generating a prediction sample for a block of video data according to a planar intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 4, line 6-7; Fig. 4-6]), wherein the intra prediction mode is one of intra prediction modes available for the current coding block (selected intra prediction mode of the plurality of intra prediction modes for intra prediction of the block of video data) [Zhao: col. 3, line 2-5; Figs. 8-9], wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block (intra prediction modes for one or more blocks as well as size information for the current block) [Zhao: col. 12, line 45-47; Figs. 1, 7] are classified into a plurality of groups ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44] – Note: Zhao discloses that his invention can divide the most probable modes (MPMs) into groups of M or more MPMs; (the derivation process for the MPMs of the current PU includes a derivation process for a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeA) for a left neighboring column and a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeB) for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 50, line 39-43] – Note: Zhao discloses that the intra prediction modes in his invention can be classified into several groups. For example, one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the left column (candintraPredModeA), one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the above neighboring row (candintraPredModeB), and other group(s) for other locations), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44], wherein a group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs (The MPM index indicates which of the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode. The non-MPM index indicates which of the plurality of intra prediction modes other than the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 25, line 8-12] among the plurality of the groups is determined (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63], wherein one or more flags specifying the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs among the plurality of the groups are encoded (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63], wherein a maximum number of the flags encoded for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups, wherein the current coding block is obtained by dividing a current picture (As part of encoding a CTU, prediction processing unit 100 may perform quad-tree partitioning to divide the CTBs of the CTU into progressively-smaller blocks. The smaller blocks may be coding blocks of CUs. For example, prediction processing unit 100 may partition a CTB associated with a CTU into four equally-sized subblocks, partition one or more of the sub-blocks into four equally-sized sub-sub-blocks, and so on) [Zhao: col. 39, line 22-29], wherein, based on a division of the current picture, partitioning information is encoded into a bitstream ((a video slice (i.e., a video frame or a portion of a video frame) may be partitioned into video blocks. Video blocks in an intra-coded (I) slice of a picture are encoded using spatial prediction with respect to reference samples in neighboring blocks in the same picture) [Zhao: col. 1, line 35-40]; (To generate a coded CTU, video encoder 20 may recursively perform quad-tree partitioning on the coding tree blocks of a CTU to divide the coding tree blocks into coding blocks, hence the name "coding tree units." A coding block is an NxN block of samples. A CU may comprise a coding block of luma samples and two corresponding coding blocks of chroma samples of a picture that has a luma sample array, a Cb sample array, and a Cr sample array, and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding blocks. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a CU may comprise a single coding block and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding block) [Zhao: col. 9, line 25-36; Figs. 1, 6]), the partitioning information indicating one of a plurality of partitioning techniques that determines a number of partitioned blocks (Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PUs having various sizes. As indicated above, the size of a CU may refer to the size of the luma coding block of the CU and the size of a PU may refer to the size of a luma prediction block of the PU. Assuming that the size of a particular CU is 2N x2N, video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PU sizes of 2Nx2N or NxN for intra prediction, and symmetric PU sizes of 2Nx2N, 2NxN, Nx2N, NxN, or similar for inter prediction. Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may also support asymmetric partitioning for PU sizes of 2NxnU, 2NxnD, nLx2N, and nRx2N for inter prediction) [Zhao: col. 39, line 36-47],wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (a list of N intra prediction mode candidates) [Zhao: col. 37, line 14; Figs. 10-21],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the TR (50) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 4),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50), a bottom-left reconstructed sample BL (52)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the BL (52) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 4).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose the following claim limitations (Emphasis added).
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lee further discloses the deficient claim limitations as follows:
wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block are classified into a plurality of groups ((a method for deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block using a plurality of MPM candidate 20 groups) [Lee: col. 32, line 18-20]; (FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (A number of MPM candidate groups used to derive an intra-prediction mode of a current block is not limited to the examples described) [Lee: col. 35, line 1-4]), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (When a third MPM candidate group includes 16 MPM candidates, information (e.g., '3rd_mpm_idx') for identifying MPM candidate included in a third MPM candidate group may be encoded as a fixed length of 4 bits) [Lee: col. 34, line 57-60],
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block (a plurality of MPM candidate groups may be determined based on information signaled in units of a sequence, a picture, a slice, a unit to be encoded/decoded. Here, the information may be information indicating a maximum number of MPM candidates or flag information indicating whether to use a plurality of MPM
candidate groups) [Lee: col. 35, line 7-17; col. 14, line 40-58; col. 33, line 28-44] is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups (Here, the intra prediction mode having similar directionality may be determined bysubtracting a predetermined constant value to or from the intra prediction mode of the neighboring block. The predetermined constant value may be an integer, such as one, two, or more) [Lee: col. 14, line 32-36].
wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (generation of the plurality of MPM candidates may comprise generating a first MPM candidate group, and generating a second MPM
candidate group) [Lee: col. 2, line 26-29; Figs. 6],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (a horizontal direction provisional prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a top right comer of the current block and a reference sample having y coordinate identical to the horizontal direction provisional prediction sample) [Lee: col. 36, line 33-38; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(3, -1) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 6),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (a vertical direction provisional
prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a bottom left corner of the current block and a reference sample having x coordinate identical to the vertical direction provisional prediction sample.) [Lee: col. 36, line 38-43; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(-1, 3) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 6).
It would have been obvious to one with an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Zhao with Lee to program the system to implement of Lee’s method.
Therefore, the combination of Zhao with Lee will enable the system to perform an efficient intra prediction [ Lee: col. 3, line 36-38].
Regarding claim 11, Zhao meets the claim limitations as follow.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium (video data memory) [Zhao: col. 38, line 58; Fig. 6] storing a bitstream (the reference pictures in the reference picture memory (also known as decoded picture buffer)) [Zhao: col. 10, line 35-37; Figs. 1, 6] generated by an encoding method (a method of encoding a block of video data) [Zhao: col. 2, line 4-5; Figs. 1, 6], the method comprising:receiving a picture of an image (receive video from a video content provider) [Zhao: col. 8, line 15; Figs. 1, 6]; and performing (calculate a value of the respective sample by applying an N-tap intra interpolation filter to neighboring reconstructed samples) [Zhao: col. 34 line 1-5; Figs. 1, 7], based on an intra prediction mode (selected intra prediction mode of the plurality of intra prediction modes for intra prediction of the block of video data) [Zhao: col. 3, line 2-5; Figs. 8-9], intra prediction to generate a prediction block of a current coding block in the picture ((i.e. intra prediction processing unit 126 may generate predictive blocks for the PU using a particular set of samples from neighboring blocks) [Zhao: col. 39, line 62-64]; (generating a prediction sample for a block of video data according to a planar intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 4, line 6-7; Fig. 4-6]), wherein the intra prediction mode is one of intra prediction modes available for the current coding block (selected intra prediction mode of the plurality of intra prediction modes for intra prediction of the block of video data) [Zhao: col. 3, line 2-5; Figs. 8-9], wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block (intra prediction modes for one or more blocks as well as size information for the current block) [Zhao: col. 12, line 45-47; Figs. 1, 7] are classified into a plurality of groups ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44] – Note: Zhao discloses that his invention can divide the most probable modes (MPMs) into groups of M or more MPMs; (the derivation process for the MPMs of the current PU includes a derivation process for a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeA) for a left neighboring column and a representative intra prediction mode (candintraPredModeB) for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 50, line 39-43] – Note: Zhao discloses that the intra prediction modes in his invention can be classified into several groups. For example, one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the left column (candintraPredModeA), one group for the intra prediction modes of the blocks on the above neighboring row (candintraPredModeB), and other group(s) for other locations), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((derives M MPMs for intra prediction of the block of video data from among a plurality of intra prediction modes. In one example, M may be greater than 3 and the MPMs may include an MPM for a left column and an MPM for an above neighboring row) [Zhao: col. 58, line 39-44], wherein a group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs (The MPM index indicates which of the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode. The non-MPM index indicates which of the plurality of intra prediction modes other than the M MPMs is the selected intra prediction mode) [Zhao: col. 25, line 8-12] among the plurality of the groups is determined (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63], wherein one or more flags specifying the group to which the intra prediction mode of the current coding block belongs among the plurality of the groups are encoded (for each PU, a one-bit flag prev_intra_luma_pred_flag[xPb ][yPb] is first signaled to indicate whether the selected intra mode of the current PU is same as one of the three MPMs) [Zhao: col. 17, line 60-63], wherein a maximum number of the flags encoded for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups, wherein the current coding block is obtained by dividing a current picture (As part of encoding a CTU, prediction processing unit 100 may perform quad-tree partitioning to divide the CTBs of the CTU into progressively-smaller blocks. The smaller blocks may be coding blocks of CUs. For example, prediction processing unit 100 may partition a CTB associated with a CTU into four equally-sized subblocks, partition one or more of the sub-blocks into four equally-sized sub-sub-blocks, and so on) [Zhao: col. 39, line 22-29], wherein, based on a division of the current picture, partitioning information is encoded into a bitstream ((a video slice (i.e., a video frame or a portion of a video frame) may be partitioned into video blocks. Video blocks in an intra-coded (I) slice of a picture are encoded using spatial prediction with respect to reference samples in neighboring blocks in the same picture) [Zhao: col. 1, line 35-40]; (To generate a coded CTU, video encoder 20 may recursively perform quad-tree partitioning on the coding tree blocks of a CTU to divide the coding tree blocks into coding blocks, hence the name "coding tree units." A coding block is an NxN block of samples. A CU may comprise a coding block of luma samples and two corresponding coding blocks of chroma samples of a picture that has a luma sample array, a Cb sample array, and a Cr sample array, and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding blocks. In monochrome pictures or pictures having three separate color planes, a CU may comprise a single coding block and syntax structures used to code the samples of the coding block) [Zhao: col. 9, line 25-36; Figs. 1, 6]), the partitioning information indicating one of a plurality of partitioning techniques that determines a number of partitioned blocks (Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PUs having various sizes. As indicated above, the size of a CU may refer to the size of the luma coding block of the CU and the size of a PU may refer to the size of a luma prediction block of the PU. Assuming that the size of a particular CU is 2N x2N, video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may support PU sizes of 2Nx2N or NxN for intra prediction, and symmetric PU sizes of 2Nx2N, 2NxN, Nx2N, NxN, or similar for inter prediction. Video encoder 20 and video decoder 30 may also support asymmetric partitioning for PU sizes of 2NxnU, 2NxnD, nLx2N, and nRx2N for inter prediction) [Zhao: col. 39, line 36-47],wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (a list of N intra prediction mode candidates) [Zhao: col. 37, line 14; Figs. 10-21],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the TR (50) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 4),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (FIG. 4, the prediction value is calculated using four specific neighboring reconstructed samples, i.e., reference samples, with a bilinear filter. The four reference samples include a top-right reconstructed sample TR (50), a bottom-left reconstructed sample BL (52)) [Zhao: col. 15, line 48-51; Figs. 4] – Note: Please see the BL (52) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 4).
Zhao does not explicitly disclose the following claim limitations (Emphasis added).
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lee further discloses the deficient claim limitations as follows:
wherein the intra prediction modes available for the current coding block are classified into a plurality of groups ((a method for deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block using a plurality of MPM candidate 20 groups) [Lee: col. 32, line 18-20]; (FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (A number of MPM candidate groups used to derive an intra-prediction mode of a current block is not limited to the examples described) [Lee: col. 35, line 1-4]), wherein a number of the groups is an integer greater than or equal to 3 ((FIG. 25 shows an example of deriving an intra-prediction mode of a current block, using 3 MPM candidate groups) [Lee: col. 4, line 37-38; Fig. 25]; (When a third MPM candidate group includes 16 MPM candidates, information (e.g., '3rd_mpm_idx') for identifying MPM candidate included in a third MPM candidate group may be encoded as a fixed length of 4 bits) [Lee: col. 34, line 57-60],
wherein a maximum number of the flags obtained for the current coding block (a plurality of MPM candidate groups may be determined based on information signaled in units of a sequence, a picture, a slice, a unit to be encoded/decoded. Here, the information may be information indicating a maximum number of MPM candidates or flag information indicating whether to use a plurality of MPM
candidate groups) [Lee: col. 35, line 7-17; col. 14, line 40-58; col. 33, line 28-44] is equal to a value resulting from subtracting one from the number of the groups (Here, the intra prediction mode having similar directionality may be determined bysubtracting a predetermined constant value to or from the intra prediction mode of the neighboring block. The predetermined constant value may be an integer, such as one, two, or more) [Lee: col. 14, line 32-36].
wherein the group includes a first intra prediction mode candidate and a second intra prediction mode candidate (generation of the plurality of MPM candidates may comprise generating a first MPM candidate group, and generating a second MPM
candidate group) [Lee: col. 2, line 26-29; Figs. 6],wherein only a top neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among top neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the first intra prediction mode candidate (a horizontal direction provisional prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a top right comer of the current block and a reference sample having y coordinate identical to the horizontal direction provisional prediction sample) [Lee: col. 36, line 33-38; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(3, -1) block adjacent at the top right corner in Figure 6),wherein only a left neighboring block with a pre-fixed position adjacent to a corner block of the current coding block among left neighboring blocks of the current coding block is used for the second intra prediction mode candidate (a vertical direction provisional
prediction sample of the current block may be obtained using a reference sample adjacent to a bottom left corner of the current block and a reference sample having x coordinate identical to the vertical direction provisional prediction sample.) [Lee: col. 36, line 38-43; Fig. 6] – Note: Please see the P(-1, 3) block adjacent at the bottom left corner in Figure 6).
It would have been obvious to one with an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Zhao with Lee to program the system to implement of Lee’s method.
Therefore, the combination of Zhao with Lee will enable the system to perform an efficient intra prediction [ Lee: col. 3, line 36-38].
Reference Notice
Additional prior arts, included in the Notice of Reference Cited, made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Philip Dang whose telephone number is (408) 918-7529. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday between 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (PST).
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, Sath Perungavoor can be reached on 571-272-7455. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Philip P. Dang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488