DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/873,917, filed on Jul. 26, 2022, which is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/073753 filed on Jan. 26, 2021, which claims the priority to and benefits of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2020/074052, filed on Jan. 26, 2020. All the aforementioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 01/14/2025 and 03/12/2025. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement was being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
4. 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 obviousness-type 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
5. Claims 1-20 are rejected on are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S Patent No. 12170789 (U.S Application 17/873,917) in view of Lee et al. (US 2020/0154127A1) (hereinafter Lee). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because it is merely in the terminology used in both sets of claims.
Please see further example below. Differences are bolded in the following comparison table.
Current application 18/948,203
Conflict application 17/873,917
Claim 1
Claim 1
A method for video processing, comprising: determining, for a conversion between a current video block of a video and a bitstream of the current video block, a spatial gradient of a direction pair associated with the current video block in an optical flow-based motion refinement process or prediction process, wherein the spatial gradient of the direction pair depends on spatial gradients of both directions of the direction pair; and
performing the conversion based on the spatial gradient.
A method for video processing, comprising: determining, for a conversion between a current video block of a video and a bitstream of the current video block, an optical flow associated with the current video block in an optical flow-based motion refinement process or prediction process, wherein the optical flow is derived along directions that are different from a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; and
performing the conversion based on the optical flow.
The conflicting application discloses all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception of “the spatial gradient.”
However, Lee from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the spatial gradient (e.g., see paragraphs 0179-0181: gradient; paragraphs 0153-0155: spatial).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system disclosed by the conflicting application to add the teachings of Lee as above, in order to provide a method and an apparatus for processing video signal (see paragraph 0001: Lee).
This is a provisional obviousness-type double patenting rejection because the conflicting claims have not in fact been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 1-20 will be allowable if Double Patenting Rejection is overcome by filing a Terminal Disclaimer.
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ON MUNG whose telephone number is (571) 270-7557 and whose direct fax number is (571) 270-8557. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm (ET).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAMIE ATALA can be reached on (571)272-7384. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ON S MUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2486