DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This is in response to application no.19/031,597 filed on 01/18/2025. The present application is being examined under the pre- AIA first to invent provisions.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 2-14 in the reply filed on 06/22/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
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Claims 2 and 3 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 3 of U.S. Patent No. US 12563185 in view of Sugio et al. (US 20130301736 A1)
Regarding claim 2, claim 1 of pat. No. ‘185 teaches the all of the limitations of the current claim 2 except the limitation “a memory configured to store first motion data associated with a first frame; and a decoder coupled to the memory…fetch the first motion data from the memory based on the first center TMD position” as recited in the current claim 2.
However, Sugio teaches “a memory configured to store first motion data associated with a first frame” (Figs. 1, 6 and 13: ¶0093, 0116, 0183: colPic information corresponding to the current picture as shown in FIG. 6 stored in the colPic memory 125/225) ; “and a decoder coupled to the memory and configurable to …fetch the first motion data from the memory based on the first center TMD position” (See FIGS. 1 and 13, colPic memory 125/225 coupled to an encoding apparatus/a decoding apparatus. ¶0188: the temporal merge motion vector calculation unit 222 reads the colPic information such as the motion vector from the colPic memory 225, based on the co-located reference flag. ¶0116: FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a read/write process on the colPic memory 125 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows a co-located block included in a co-located picture colPic).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill at the time of the invention to have modified claim 1 of pat. No. ‘185 by incorporating the teaching of Sugio as noted above, to arrive at the claimed invention as recited in the current claim 2, in order to allow the encoded data to be decoded and reproduced by the destination device.
Dependent claims 4-13 are rejected based on their dependency from the rejected claim 2.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 8 of U.S. Patent No. US 12563185. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1 and 8 of pat. No.’185 teaches the current claims 14 and 15.
Dependent claims 16-21 are rejected based on their dependency from the rejected claim 14.
Table 1 below shows the comparison between the current claims and the claims of pat. No. ‘185.
TABLE 1
Current claims
Pat. No. US 12563185 B2 claims
2. A system comprising:
divide a second frame into a plurality of largest coding units (LCUs) including a first LCU in a row of LCUs; divide the first LCU into a first prediction unit and a second prediction unit;
constrain a first bottom-right temporal motion data (TMD) position for the first prediction unit to be inside of the row of LCUs at a first center TMD position in response to the first bottom-right TMD position for the first prediction unit being outside the row of LCUs;
fetch the first motion data
add the first motion data to a first candidate list for the first prediction unit.
1. A method comprising: initiating an encoding of a video sequence to produce an encoded video sequence, wherein the encoding of the video sequence includes: dividing a picture in the video sequence into a plurality of largest coding units (LCUs) including a first LCU in a row of LCUs; dividing the first LCU into a first prediction unit and a second prediction unit;
constraining a temporal motion data (TMD) position for the first prediction unit to be inside the first prediction unit in response to a first bottom-right TMD position of the first prediction unit being outside the row of LCUs;
retrieving first motion data based on the TMD position inside the first prediction unit; and adding the first motion data to a first candidate list for the first prediction unit…
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the decoder is configurable to: derive a second bottom-right TMD position for the second prediction unit, wherein the second bottom-right TMD position is inside the row of LCUs; fetch second motion data from the memory based on the second bottom-right TMD position; and add the second motion data to a second candidate list for the second prediction unit.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoding of the video sequence includes: deriving a second bottom-right TMD position for the second prediction unit, wherein the second bottom-right TMD position is inside the row of LCUs; retrieving second motion data based on the second bottom-right TMD position; and adding the second motion data to a second candidate list for the second prediction unit.
14. A method comprising: dividing a frame into a plurality of largest coding units (LCUs) including a first LCU in a row of LCUs; dividing the first LCU into a first prediction unit and a second prediction unit; constraining a first bottom-right temporal motion data (TMD) position for the first prediction unit to be inside of the row of LCUs at a first center TMD position in response to the first bottom-right TMD position for the first prediction unit being outside the row of LCUs; fetching first motion data based on the first center TMD position; and adding the first motion data to a first candidate list for the first prediction unit.
1. A method comprising: initiating an encoding of a video sequence to produce an encoded video sequence, wherein the encoding of the video sequence includes: dividing a picture in the video sequence into a plurality of largest coding units (LCUs) including a first LCU in a row of LCUs; dividing the first LCU into a first prediction unit and a second prediction unit;
constraining a temporal motion data (TMD) position for the first prediction unit to be inside the first prediction unit in response to a first bottom-right TMD position of the first prediction unit being outside the row of LCUs;
retrieving first motion data based on the TMD position inside the first prediction unit; and adding the first motion data to a first candidate list for the first prediction unit…
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: deriving a second bottom-right TMD position for the second prediction unit, wherein the second bottom-right TMD position is inside the row of LCUs; fetching second motion data based on the second bottom-right TMD position; and adding the second motion data to a second candidate list for the second prediction unit.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoding of the video sequence includes: deriving a second bottom-right TMD position for the second prediction unit, wherein the second bottom-right TMD position is inside the row of LCUs; retrieving second motion data based on the second bottom-right TMD position; and adding the second motion data to a second candidate list for the second prediction unit.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 7, 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “wherein the decoder is configurable to constrain the first bottom-right TMD position to be at the first center TMD position without checking an availability of motion data associated with the first bottom- right TMD position” which was not described in the originally filed specification of the current application.
Claim 8 recites the limitation “wherein the decoder is configurable to constrain the first bottom-right TMD position to be inside of the row of LCUs without checking an availability of motion data associated with the first bottom-right TMD position” which was not described in the originally filed specification of the current application.
Claim 19 recites “wherein constraining the first bottom-right TMD position to be at the first center TMD position occurs without checking an availability of motion data associated with the first bottom-right TMD position” which was not described in the originally filed specification of the current application.
The following is the prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Oh (US 20130022122 A1) describes a method of encoding a motion vector of a current prediction unit using one of motion vectors of spatially and temporally neighboring prediction unit. ¶0002
Conclusion
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/NATHNAEL AYNALEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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