DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on 01/16/2025. Claims 1-3 have been examined.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant's claim for provisional application number 61/706,783 filed on 09/28/2012.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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).
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Claims 1-3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8 of U.S. patent Application No. 18/765,660. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention that the claims cover substantially the same subject matter. The table below shows only a sample of how each of these claims is anticipated by claims such as claim 1 of U.S. patent application No. 18/765,660.
Instant Application
U.S. patent application No. 18/765,660
Claim 1: A decoding apparatus for image decoding, the decoding apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor connected to the memory, the at least one processor configured to: obtain a picture parameter set (PPS) including a lists modification present flag indicating whether information on modification of a reference picture list is present through a bitstream; obtain prediction mode information and residual signal for a current block; derive the reference picture list based on the lists modification present flag; determine whether intra prediction or inter prediction is applied to the current block based on the prediction mode information; when the prediction mode information indicates that the inter prediction is applied to the current block, derive a prediction sample of the current block based on a reference picture included in the reference picture list; derive a residual sample of the current block based on the residual signal; and generate a reconstructed picture based on the prediction sample and the residual sample, wherein the reference picture list includes reference pictures used for the inter prediction with regard to a slice comprising the current block.
Claim 1: A video decoding method, comprising: obtaining a picture parameter set (PPS) including a lists modification present flag indicating whether information on modification of a reference picture list is present through a bitstream; obtaining prediction mode information and residual signal for a current block; deriving the reference picture list based on the lists modification present flag; determining whether intra prediction or inter prediction is applied to the current block based on the prediction mode information; when the prediction mode information indicates that the inter prediction is applied to the current block, deriving a prediction sample of the current block based on a reference picture included in the reference picture list; deriving a residual sample of the current block based on the residual signal; and generating a reconstructed picture based on the prediction sample and the residual sample, wherein the reference picture list includes reference pictures used for the inter prediction with regard to a slice comprising the current block.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101 nonstatutory double patenting rejection, set forth in this Office action.
Allowable subject matter “when the prediction mode information indicates that the inter prediction is applied to the current block, derive a prediction sample of the current block based on a reference picture included in the reference picture list; derive a residual sample of the current block based on the residual signal; and generate a reconstructed picture based on the prediction sample and the residual sample, wherein the reference picture list includes reference pictures used for the inter prediction with regard to a slice comprising the current block”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY T JEAN BAPTISTE whose telephone number is (571)272-6189. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5PM EST.
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/JERRY T JEAN BAPTISTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2481