Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 19/015,183

ENCODER, DECODER, METHODS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR AN IMPROVED LOSSLESS COMPRESSION

Non-Final OA §101§DP
Filed
Jan 09, 2025
Examiner
WONG, ALLEN C
Art Unit
2488
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
669 granted / 805 resolved
+25.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
832
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
§103
41.6%
+1.6% vs TC avg
§102
16.5%
-23.5% vs TC avg
§112
9.8%
-30.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 805 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §DP
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/9/25 and 8/27/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. Double Patenting A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957). A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101. Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claim 1 of prior U.S. Patent No. 12,225,238. This is a statutory double patenting rejection. Claim 1 of present Application ‘183 is verbatim with claim 1 of Patent ‘238. Peruse the table below. Present Application 19/015,183 US Patent No. 12,225,238 Claim 1. An encoder for encoding a picture into a data stream, the encoder configured to: signal a plurality of coding parameters in the data stream which relate to a predetermined portion of the picture and control a prediction residual transform mode and a quantization accuracy with respect to the predetermined portion; check whether the plurality of coding parameters are indicative of a coding parameter setting corresponding to a lossless prediction residual coding; and responsive to the plurality of coding parameters being indicative of the coding parameter setting corresponding to the lossless prediction residual coding, setting one or more predetermined coding options relating to one or more tools of the encoder for processing a prediction residual corrected predictive reconstruction with respect to the predetermined portion so that the one or more tools are disabled with respect to the predetermined portion. Claim 1. An encoder for encoding a picture into a data stream, the encoder configured to: signal a plurality of coding parameters in the data stream which relate to a predetermined portion of the picture and control a prediction residual transform mode and a quantization accuracy with respect to the predetermined portion; check whether the plurality of coding parameters are indicative of a coding parameter setting corresponding to a lossless prediction residual coding; and responsive to the plurality of coding parameters being indicative of the coding parameter setting corresponding to the lossless prediction residual coding, setting one or more predetermined coding options relating to one or more tools of the encoder for processing a prediction residual corrected predictive reconstruction with respect to the predetermined portion so that the one or more tools are disabled with respect to the predetermined portion. Citation of Other Pertinent Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. 1. “A SIGNAL ENCODER AND DECODER FOR USING PREDICTOR MODELS” - Fannes et al. (US 2019/0028114). 2. “TRANSFORM SKIPPING AND LOSSLESS CODING UNIFICATION” - Van Der Auwera et al. (US 2013/0294524). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN C WONG whose telephone number is (571)272-7341. The examiner can normally be reached on Flex Monday-Thursday 9:30am-7:30pm. 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 V Perungavoor can be reached on 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 an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ALLEN C WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 09, 2025
Application Filed
Jan 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §101, §DP (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604009
IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12598321
ENCODER, DECODER, ENCODING METHOD, AND DECODING METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12587671
VIDEO ENCODING APPARATUS AND A VIDEO DECODING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12581134
FEATURE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND DEVICE, AND RECORDING MEDIUM STORING BITSTREAM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12581091
METHODS AND APPARATUS OF ENCODING/DECODING VIDEO PICTURE DATA
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+11.8%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 805 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow 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