DETAILED ACTION
1. This Office Action is sent in response to Applicant’s communication received on 01/06/2025 for application number 19/010,554. The Office herby acknowledges receipt of the following and placed of record in file: Specification, Drawings, Abstract, Oath/Declaration, and claims.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/06/2025, 04/03/2025 is in accordance with provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is 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 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); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
5. 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 nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
6. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) 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 www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
7. Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3 of U.S. Patent No. 12,348,766. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other: Table 1 shows comparison between the instant claims and the U.S. Patent 12,348,766 B1 claims.
19010554
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing therein a computer program, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations including: decoding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a decoded picture different from the current picture is used; assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, decoding a collocated reference picture index for specifying the decoded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor, the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block, using one of the second motion vector predictor candidates, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not decoded.
12348766
1. A moving picture decoding apparatus for decoding a current block to be decoded included in a current picture to be decoded by inter predictive decoding using a motion vector, the moving picture decoding apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the processor to execute operations including: decoding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a decoded picture different from the current picture is used; assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, decoding a collocated reference picture index for specifying the decoded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor, the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block, using one of the second motion vector predictor candidates, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not decoded.
2. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing therein a computer program, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations including: assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; coding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a coded picture different from the current picture is used; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, coding a collocated reference picture index for specifying the coded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag, the coded collocated reference picture index, and the coded motion vector; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag and the coded motion vector, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not coded.
2. A moving picture coding apparatus for coding a current block to be coded included in a current picture to be coded by inter predictive coding using a motion vector, the A moving picture coding apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the processor to execute operations including: assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; coding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a coded picture different from the current picture is used; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, coding a collocated reference picture index for specifying the coded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag, the coded collocated reference picture index, and the coded motion vector; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag and the coded motion vector, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not coded.
3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream comprising: a first flag; and a collocated reference picture index, the bitstream causes the processor to perform operations including: decoding the first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a decoded picture different from the current picture is used; assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, decoding the collocated reference picture index for specifying the decoded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor, the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, and decoding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive decoding on the current block, using one of the second motion vector predictor candidates, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not decoded.
3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream comprising: an encoded first flag corresponding to a first flag; an encoded collocated reference picture index corresponding to a collocated reference picture index; and an encoded motion vector corresponding to a motion vector, the bitstream being generated by performing an encoding method for coding a current block to be coded included in a current picture to be coded by inter predictive coding using a motion vector, the method comprising: assigning one or more reference picture indexes to a reference picture list; coding a first flag indicating whether or not temporal motion vector prediction using a temporal motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block included in a coded picture different from the current picture is used; when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is used, coding a collocated reference picture index for specifying the coded picture among a plurality of pictures indicated by the one or more reference picture indexes, deriving a plurality of first motion vector predictor candidates including (i) a spatial motion vector predictor which is a motion vector of a block adjacent to the current block in the current picture and (ii) the temporal motion vector predictor being calculated based on a motion vector of the coded picture which is specified by the collocated reference picture index, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the first motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag, the coded collocated reference picture index, and the coded motion vector; and when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, deriving a plurality of second motion vector predictor candidates that do not include the temporal motion vector predictor, the second motion vector candidates including (i) the spatial motion vector predictor and (ii) a replacement vector, as a replacement for the temporal motion vector predictor, coding a motion vector used for performing inter predictive coding on the current block, using one of the second motion vector predictor candidates, and outputting the coded first flag and the coded motion vector, wherein when the first flag indicates that the temporal motion vector prediction is not used, the collocated reference picture index is not coded.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 1-3 are allowable, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 10212447 B2
US 20120219063 A1
US 20120008688 A1
US 20090010323 A1
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD D BROWN JR whose telephone number is (571)272-4371. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 5:00PM EST.
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HOWARD D. BROWN JR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2488
/HOWARD D BROWN JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2488