DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nokia Technology (WO 2021/140275 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Nokia discloses an architecture in figure 5 that teaches: coding audio and/or video data, by a coding device using a coding artificial neural network (DCIAC), (encoding, 502, decoding, 504, of audio and/or video data using a neutral network which is itself encoded, 503, and decoded, 505; see para. 0024, 0051-0052), further teaching: coding the audio and/or video data, (para. 0051); generating a data signal that contains the coded audio and/or video data (output of encoder 502/503); coding information representative of a decoding configuration relating to the use of said network that a decoding device has to have in order to decode said coded data (see para. 0092-0111, a plurality of “NNR bitstreams” representing a compressed neutral network (see point 11 of para. 0094 or point 10 of para. 0096 one of the items of information encoded in the NNR bitstream is the maximum amount of memory required by decoder (para. 0128), and inserting the coded information into the data signal (see figure 5, para. 0051, 0052 (the compressed data are clearly inserted into the same bitstream, 512).
Regarding claim 2, Nokia discloses an architecture in figure 5 for decoding audio/video data by decoding device (504/505) teaching: receiving a coded audio and/or video data signal for decoding, decoding (by decoder (504,505) , from said signal, information representative of a decoding configuration in which at least one step of decoding the audio and/or video data is implemented using a decoding artificial neural network, checking whether the decoding device (504,505) has the decoding configuration corresponding to the decoded information, decoding or not decoding said signal, depending on the result of the checking (see figure 5, para. 0094 and 0096 (steps of decoding information relating to the amount of memory required by the decoder. This involves step of checking the memory available to the decoder and implies that the decoding method cannot continue if the available memory is insufficient.
Regarding claim 3, Nokia further teaches: wherein the decoding configuration belongs to: a first category corresponding to at least one particular physical feature of hardware or software to be supported by the decoding device in order to be able to decode the signal (see point 11 of para. 0094) and point 10 of para. 0096) (the amount of memory required falls under the “first category” of decoding configuration.
Regarding claim 4, Nokia further teaches: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration, which is respectively decoded, is associated with at least one category among the first, second or third category signal (see point 11 of para. 0094) and point 10 of para. 0096) (the amount of memory required falls under the “first category” of decoding configuration.
Regarding claim 9, claim 9 is similar to claim 2 in device format. Therefore, claim 9 is rejected as well as rejected in claim 2, such as: Nokia discloses an architecture in figure 5 for decoding audio/video data by decoding device (504/505) teaching: receiving a coded audio and/or video data signal for decoding, decoding (by decoder (504,505) , from said signal, information representative of a decoding configuration in which at least one step of decoding the audio and/or video data is implemented using a decoding artificial neural network, checking whether the decoding device (504,505) has the decoding configuration corresponding to the decoded information, decoding or not decoding said signal, depending on the result of the checking (see figure 5, para. 0094 and 0096 (steps of decoding information relating to the amount of memory required by the decoder. This involves step of checking the memory available to the decoder and implies that the decoding method cannot continue if the available memory is insufficient.
Regarding claim 10, claim 10 is similar to claim 1 in computer program format. Therefore, claim 10 is rejected as well as rejected in claim 1 such as: Nokia discloses an architecture in figure 5 that teaches: coding audio and/or video data, by a coding device using a coding artificial neural network (DCIAC), (encoding, 502, decoding, 504, of audio and/or video data using a neutral network which is itself encoded, 503, and decoded, 505; see para. 0024, 0051-0052), further teaching: coding the audio and/or video data, (para. 0051); generating a data signal that contains the coded audio and/or video data (output of encoder 502/503); coding information representative of a decoding configuration relating to the use of said network that a decoding device has to have in order to decode said coded data (see para. 0092-0111, a plurality of “NNR bitstreams” representing a compressed neutral network (see point 11 of para. 0094 or point 10 of para. 0096 one of the items of information encoded in the NNR bitstream is the maximum amount of memory required by decoder (para. 0128), and inserting the coded information into the data signal (see figure 5, para. 0051, 0052 (the compressed data are clearly inserted into the same bitstream, 512).
Regarding claim 11, claim 11 is similar to claim 2 in computer program format. Therefore, claim 11 is rejected as well as rejected in claim 1, such as: Nokia discloses an architecture in figure 5 for decoding audio/video data by decoding device (504/505) teaching: receiving a coded audio and/or video data signal for decoding, decoding (by decoder (504,505) , from said signal, information representative of a decoding configuration in which at least one step of decoding the audio and/or video data is implemented using a decoding artificial neural network, checking whether the decoding device (504,505) has the decoding configuration corresponding to the decoded information, decoding or not decoding said signal, depending on the result of the checking (see figure 5, para. 0094 and 0096 (steps of decoding information relating to the amount of memory required by the decoder. This involves step of checking the memory available to the decoder and implies that the decoding method cannot continue if the available memory is insufficient.
Regarding claim 12, Nokia further teaches: wherein the decoding configuration belongs to: a first category corresponding to at least one particular physical feature of hardware or software to be supported by the decoding device in order to be able to decode the signal (see point 11 of para. 0094) and point 10 of para. 0096) (the amount of memory required falls under the “first category” of decoding configuration.
Regarding claim 13, Nokia further teaches: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration, which is respectively decoded, is associated with at least one category among the first, second or third category signal (see point 11 of para. 0094) and point 10 of para. 0096) (the amount of memory required falls under the “first category” of decoding configuration.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the decoding configuration belongs to a set comprising: a maximum size of a data storage memory; a minimum number of operations per second; a minimum latent variable rate;-a predetermined number of values respectively associated with predefined latent variable rate limits;-a particular type of electronic circuit; a minimum number of bits representative of syntax elements aimed at reconstructing latent variables per unit of time; a maximum number of bits representative of syntax elements aimed at reconstructing latent variables per unit of time; a level of precision of mathematical representation of at least one operating parameter of the a decoding artificial neural network; the activation or non-activation of at least one decoding identical to a reference decoding; at least one particular mathematical operator or a list of particular mathematical operators;-a particular mathematical function; a number of entropy decoding statistical sources.
Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration is contained in a set of predefined video parameters of the coding or decoding method, respectively, or, when the video data are representative of an image sequence, in a set of parameters associated with said sequence.
Claim 7 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration comprises: a first value that is associated with a first configuration element of said decoding configuration, and a second value that is associated with the first configuration element and with a second configuration element of said decoding configuration.
Claim 14 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the decoding configuration belongs to a set comprising: a maximum size of a data storage memory; a minimum number of operations per second; a minimum latent variable rate;-a predetermined number of values respectively associated with predefined latent variable rate limits;-a particular type of electronic circuit; a minimum number of bits representative of syntax elements aimed at reconstructing latent variables per unit of time; a maximum number of bits representative of syntax elements aimed at reconstructing latent variables per unit of time; a level of precision of mathematical representation of at least one operating parameter of the a decoding artificial neural network; the activation or non-activation of at least one decoding identical to a reference decoding; at least one particular mathematical operator or a list of particular mathematical operators;-a particular mathematical function; a number of entropy decoding statistical sources.
Claim 15 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration is contained in a set of predefined video parameters of the decoding method, or, when the video data are representative of an image sequence, in a set of parameters associated with said sequence.
Claim 16 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but it would be considered for allowable if it is rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art of record, considered individually or in combination, fails to fairly teach or suggest objected features, which is: wherein the information representative of a decoding configuration comprises: a first value that is associated with a first configuration element of said decoding configuration, and a second value that is associated with the first configuration element and with a second configuration element of said decoding configuration.
Cited References
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cited references are related to instant application subject matters.
Conclusion
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/LAM T MAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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