Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/997,884

Method and Apparatus of Subblock-based Temporal Motion Vector Prediction with Reordering and Refinement in Video Coding

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 23, 2025
Priority
Aug 05, 2022 — provisional 63/370,508 +1 more
Examiner
ANYIKIRE, CHIKAODILI E
Art Unit
2487
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
MediaTek Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 5m
Est. Remaining
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
808 granted / 1075 resolved
+17.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+10.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
1129
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
§103
49.4%
+9.4% vs TC avg
§102
36.3%
-3.7% vs TC avg
§112
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1075 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1 – 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al (US 2025/0142056, hereafter Zhang). As per claim 1, Zhang discloses a method of video coding, the method comprising: receiving input data associated with a current block, wherein the input data comprise pixel data for the current block to be encoded at an encoder side or encoded data associated with the current block to be decoded at a decoder side (¶ 546); determining a target motion shift from one or more neighbouring blocks comprising at least one non-adjacent spatial neighbouring block of the current block (¶ 547, 555, 559); determining a collocated block in a reference picture based on the target motion shift (¶ 547 and 550; ¶ 550; a candidate motion shift in the at least one motion shift list comprises a motion vector (MV) pointing to a co-located frame of the current video block.); deriving subblock motion information for subblocks of the current block based on motion information of corresponding subblocks of the collocated block; generating an SbTMVP (Subblock-based Temporal Motion Vector Prediction) candidate for the current block based on the subblock motion information for the subblocks of the current block (¶ 552); and encoding or decoding the current block by using a motion prediction set comprising the SbTMVP candidate (¶ 552). As per claim 2, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein the SbTMVP candidate is used for Skip mode, Merge mode, Direct mode, Inter mode, IBC mode or a combination thereof (¶ 565). As per claim 3, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein the target motion shift is derived from one or more motion shift candidates from said one or more neighbouring blocks based on one or more schemes involved with TM (Template Matching), ARMC-TM (Adaptive Reordering of Merge Candidates with Template Matching) or both (¶ 503). As per claim 4, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 3, wherein the target motion shift is derived by refining one motion shift candidate based on the TM with one or more templates of the current block (¶ 226). As per claim 5, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 3, wherein two or more motion shift candidates from one or more neighbouring adjacent blocks of the current block, one or more neighbouring non-adjacent blocks of the current block or both are determined, and wherein said two or more motion shift candidates are reordered according to the ARMC-TM (¶ 226). As per claim 6, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 5, wherein a first motion shift candidate in reordered two or more motion shift candidates is selected as the target motion shift (¶ 503). As per claim 7, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 5, wherein a first motion shift candidate in reordered two or more motion shift candidates is refined by the TM and used as the target motion shift (¶ 226 and 547). As per claim 8, Zhang discloses the method of claim 3, wherein two or more motion shift candidates from one or more neighbouring adjacent blocks of the current block, one or more neighbouring non-adjacent blocks of the current block or both are determined, and wherein said two or more motion shift candidates are refined according to the TM and then reordered according to the ARMC-TM (¶ 226, 503, and 547). As per claim 9, Zhang discloses the method of Claim 8, wherein a first motion shift candidate in reordered two or more motion shift candidates is selected as the target motion shift (¶ 226, 503, 547). Regarding claim 16, arguments analogous to those presented for clam 1 are applicable for claim 16. Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) 10 - 15 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIKAODILI E ANYIKIRE whose telephone number is (571)270-1445. The examiner can normally be reached 8 am - 4:30 pm. 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, David Czekaj can be reached at 571-272-7327. 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. /CHIKAODILI E ANYIKIRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 23, 2025
Application Filed
Oct 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+10.9%)
3y 2m (~1y 5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1075 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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