Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/971,573

IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 06, 2024
Priority
Oct 04, 2016 — RE 10-2016-0127883 +6 more
Examiner
WILLIAMS, JEFFERY A
Art Unit
2488
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
B1 Institute of Image Technology, Inc.
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
770 granted / 922 resolved
+25.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
973
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
76.4%
+36.4% vs TC avg
§102
7.7%
-32.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.9%
-29.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 922 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3, 8, and 10 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1, 3-8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 8, and 10 recite the limitations “determining the size or respective partitioning unit; and performing the padding for the respective identified partitioning unit”. The applicant’s originally filed specification fails to disclose this limitation. The examiner notes, in the applicant’s remarks filed 2/26/2026, the applicant cites [0559] and [0565] of the applicant’s specification as disclosing said limitations, however, the examiner respectfully disagrees. [0559] teaches faces of an image when projected onto a shape such as a cube may be of different sizes. This teaching however does not recite a step of determining the size of the face(s) for performing padding on prediction units (PU) which constitute the face(s). Further, [0565] teaches different resizing processes may be performed on each respective face of the projected image. This teaching also does not recite a step of determining the size of a prediction unit (or a face of an image) for performing padding on the prediction unit (or face). Claims 3-7 are rejected based on their respective dependencies upon claim 1. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang et al. (Zhang) (US 2017/0150186) ([0322], [0326], boundary pixel blocks are up-sampled/subsampling is performed based on the prediction unit size; [0143] reconstructed luma samples are resized). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFERY A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7579. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00. 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 at 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 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. /JEFFERY A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 7 earlier events
Oct 27, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Nov 17, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 18, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Jan 26, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 26, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 08, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 19, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
May 06, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12636125
AUTOMATIC DETECTION AND PROCESSING OF POOR-QUALITY VIRTUAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL DENTAL MODELS
2y 7m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12634425
IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
1y 12m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12625265
ADDRESSING REDUNDANT MEMORY FOR LIDAR PIXELS
3y 4m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12617559
MOVEMENT PREDICTION APPARATUS
3y 2m to grant Granted May 05, 2026
Patent 12621421
IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
1y 11m to grant Granted May 05, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+9.2%)
2y 7m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 922 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month