DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is a response to an application filed on 01/15/2025, in which claims 1-3 are pending and ready for examination.
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 01/15/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim interpretation
Claim 3’s recitation of a “non-transitory computer readable medium storing a bitstream for a decoder…” is a product by process claim limitation where the product is the bitstream and the process is the method steps to generate the bitstream. MPEP §2113 recites “Product-by-Process claims are not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps”. Thus, the scope of the claim is the computer readable medium storing the bitstream (with the structure implied by the method steps). The structure includes the current partition, the first and second parameter, and other information manipulated by the steps.
To be given patentable weight, the computer readable medium (a storage medium) and the bitstream (i.e. descriptive material) must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the descriptive material performs some function with respect to the storage medium to which it is associated. See MPEP §2111.05(I)(A). When a claimed “computer-readable medium merely serves as a support for information or data, no functional relationship exists”. MPEP §2111.05(III). The storage medium storing the claimed bitstream in claim 3 merely services as a support for the storage of the bitstream and provides no functional relationship between the stored bitstream and storage medium. Therefor the structure of the bitstream, which scope is implied by the method steps, is non-functional descriptive material and given no patentable weight. MPEP §2111.05(III). Thus, the claim scope is just a storage medium storing data.
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chien (US 2018/0084260 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Chien discloses: A non-transitory computer readable medium storing the bitstream for a decoder (see Chien, paragraph 59 and Fig. 1).
Double Patenting
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).
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 § 2146 et seq. 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).
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.
Claims 1, 2, and 3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims (1 and 2), (11 and 12), 15 and 16 of US Patent No. 11,039,164. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1, 2, and 3 are generic to all that is recited in claims (1 and 2), (11 and 12), 15 and 16 of US Patent No. 11,039,164. Thus, claims 1, 2, and 3 of the instant application are anticipated by claims (1 and 2), (11 and 12), 15 and 16 of US Patent No. 11,039,164.
Claims 1, 2, and 3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 11,503,330 in view of Chien (US 2018/0084260 A1).
U.S. Patent No. 11,503,330 does not disclose: the plurality of tables include (i) a first table including sub-pixel correction values and integer-pixel correction values and (ii) a second table including integer-pixel correction values.
However, Chien from the same or similar endeavor discloses: the plurality of tables include (i) a first table (see paragraph 187, using plurality of codeword mapping tables) including sub-pixel correction value (see paragraph 180, pixel difference values for fractional pixel positions), and integer-pixel correction value (see Chien, paragraph 180, pixel difference values for full pixel positions) (ii) a second table (see paragraph 187, plurality of mapping tables are present) including integer-pixel correction values (see paragraph 180, full pixel positions).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have “the plurality of tables include (i) a first table including sub-pixel correction values and integer-pixel correction values and (ii) a second table including integer-pixel correction values” as taught by Chien in the video coding method taught by U.S. Patent No. 11,503,330 to improve coding efficiency (see Chien, paragraph 29).
Claims 1, 2, and 3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 11,863,785. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1, 2, and 3 are generic to all that is recited in claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 11,863,785. Thus, claims 1, 2, and 3 of the instant application are anticipated by claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 11,863,785.
Claims 1, 2, and 3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, and 3 of US Patent No. 12,238,328. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1, 2, and 3 are generic to all that is recited in claims 1, 2, and 3 of US Patent No. 12,238,328. Thus, claims 1, 2, and 3 of the instant application are anticipated by claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 12,238,328.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2 would be allowed upon overcoming the Double Patenting rejection shown above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARYAM A NASRI whose telephone number is (571)270-7158. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00-8:00 M-T.
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/MARYAM A NASRI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483