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 .
Claims 1-4 are pending for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/16/2025; 02/12/2025; 03/25/2025; 06/12/2025; 08/20/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-4 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 of U.S. Patent No. US 12010326 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other, see table below for reasons.
Claims 1-4 of instant application
US 12010326 B2: claims 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8
Claims 1-4: deriving a first merge candidate and a second merge candidate of a current block based on neighboring blocks of the current block
Claims 1, 4 & 8: deriving a first merge candidate and a second merge candidate of a current block based on neighboring blocks of the current block;
Claims 1-4: deriving a combined merge candidate of the current block based on a combination of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate
Claims 1, 4 & 8: deriving a combined merge candidate of the current block based on a combination of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate;
Claims 1-4: generating a merge candidate list based on the combined merge candidate of the current block
Claims 1, 4 & 8: generating a merge candidate list based on the combined merge candidate of the current block;
Claims 1-4: deriving a motion vector for the current block based on the merge candidate list
Claims 1, 4 & 8: deriving a motion vector for the current block based on the merge candidate list,
Claims 1-4: wherein the combined merge candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after the insertion of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate
Claims 3 and 6: wherein the combined merge candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after the insertion of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate.
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)(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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by AONO (US 20200177911 A1).
Regarding claim 1, AONO teaches an image decoding method performed by a decoding apparatus, the method comprising:
deriving a first merge candidate and a second merge candidate of a current block based on neighboring blocks of the current block ([0307] In the combined merge derivation process, the merge candidate deriver 30361 combines motion vectors and reference picture indices of two different derived merge candidates which are already derived and stored in the merge candidate storage 30363 as motion vectors for L0 and L1,);
deriving a combined merge candidate of the current block based on a combination of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate (derive a combined merge candidate. [0307]);
generating a merge candidate list based on the combined merge candidate of the current block (stores the derived combined merge candidate in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ]. [0307]); and
deriving a motion vector for the current block based on the merge candidate list ([0037] FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a prediction vector candidate list (merge candidate list). Examiner note: list includes combined merge candidate),
wherein the combined merge candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after the insertion of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate ([0301] the order of storing in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ] is {L, A, AR, BL, AL, BR/C, a combined merge candidate, and a zero merge candidate}).
Regarding claim 2, AONO teaches an image encoding method performed by an encoding apparatus, the method comprising:
deriving a first merge candidate and a second merge candidate of a current block based on neighboring blocks of the current block ([0307] In the combined merge derivation process, the merge candidate deriver 30361 combines motion vectors and reference picture indices of two different derived merge candidates which are already derived and stored in the merge candidate storage 30363 as motion vectors for L0 and L1,);
deriving a combined merge candidate of the current block based on a combination of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate (derive a combined merge candidate. [0307]);
generating a merge candidate list based on the combined merge candidate of the current block (stores the derived combined merge candidate in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ]. [0307]); and
deriving a motion vector for the current block based on the merge candidate list; and encoding image information including prediction related information for the motion vector for the current block ([0037] FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a prediction vector candidate list (merge candidate list). Examiner note: list includes combined merge candidate),
wherein the combined merge candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after the insertion of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate ([0301] the order of storing in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ] is {L, A, AR, BL, AL, BR/C, a combined merge candidate, and a zero merge candidate}).
Regarding claim 3, a bit stream generated by a method, the method comprising… is a product by process claim limitation where the product is the bit stream 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 storage medium storing the bitstream (with the structure implied by the method steps). The structure includes the information and samples manipulated by the steps.
“To be given patentable weight, the printed matter and associated product must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the printed matter performs some function with respect to the product to which it is associated”. 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 fictional relationship between the stored bitstream and storage medium. Therefor the structure 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 and is anticipated by AONO which recites a storage medium storing a bitstream ([0068]).
Regarding claim 4, AONO teaches a transmission method for image data, the method comprising:
obtaining a bitstream of encoded image information, wherein the encoded image information is generated based on deriving a first merge candidate and a second merge candidate of a current block based on neighboring blocks of the current block, deriving a combined merge candidate of the current block based on a combination of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate, generating a merge candidate list based on the combined merge candidate of the current block, deriving a motion vector for the current block based on the merge candidate list, and encoding the image information including prediction related information for the motion vector for the current block ([0307] In the combined merge derivation process, the merge candidate deriver 30361 combines motion vectors and reference picture indices of two different derived merge candidates which are already derived and stored in the merge candidate storage 30363 as motion vectors for L0 and L1, respectively to derive a combined merge candidate, and stores the derived combined merge candidate in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ].); and
transmitting the image data comprising the bitstream ([0002] video transmission),
wherein the combined merge candidate is inserted into the merge candidate list after the insertion of the first merge candidate and the second merge candidate ([0301] the order of storing in the merge candidate list mergeCandList[ ] is {L, A, AR, BL, AL, BR/C, a combined merge candidate, and a zero merge candidate}).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HESHAM K ABOUZAHRA whose telephone number is (571)270-0425. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/HESHAM K ABOUZAHRA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2486