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The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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).
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Claims 1-7 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in view of Sole Rojals et al. (US 2013/0058407 A1, referred to herein as “Sole”).
Claim 1 of Instant Application
A method of decoding an image, the method comprising:
receiving a bitstream including coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including sub-block information and absolute value information, the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of a current transform coefficient of the sub-block in the current transform block is greater than 3;
in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient, entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient from the bitstream; and
decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order,
wherein entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not;
decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+1, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345
A method of decoding an image, the method comprising:
receiving a bitstream including coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including sub-block information and absolute value information, the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of a current transform coefficient of the sub-block in the current transform block is greater than 3; and
in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient, entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient from the bitstream,
wherein entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not;
decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+1, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Table 1.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 discloses many of the same limitations as shown in Table 1.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 does not explicitly disclose: decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order.
However, Sole discloses: decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order; paragraphs [0196] – [0198], disclosing decoding of the encoded video in a process that mirrors the scan order of an encoding unit).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Regarding claims 2-5, claims 2-5 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in view of Sole discloses the same or similar limitations and are therefore not patentably distinct.
Regarding claim 6, claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 discloses many of the same limitations.
Claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 does not explicitly disclose: encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order.
However, Sole discloses: encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Regarding claim 7, claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 discloses many of the same limitations.
Claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 does not explicitly disclose: encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order.
However, Sole discloses: encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Claims 1-7 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 in view of Sole.
Claim 1 of Instant Application
A method of decoding an image, the method comprising:
receiving a bitstream including coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including sub-block information and absolute value information, the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of a current transform coefficient of the sub-block in the current transform block is greater than 3;
in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient, entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient from the bitstream; and
decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order,
wherein entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not;
decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+1, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315
1. A method of decoding an image, the method comprising:
receiving a bitstream including coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including absolute value information of a current transform coefficient in the current transform block, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of the current transform coefficient is greater than 3; and
entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient from the bitstream,
wherein entropy-decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not; and
decoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+1, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Table 2.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 discloses many of the same limitations as shown in Table 2.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 does not explicitly disclose: the coefficient information including sub-block information… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient… entropy decoding in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient… and decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order.
However, Sole discloses: the coefficient information including sub-block information (Sole: paragraphs [0080] – [0081], disclosing sub-block coefficient information)… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraphs [0069] and [0071], disclosing scanning order to determine zero and non-zero coefficients of a sub-block)… entropy decoding in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraph [0122], disclosing scanning of significant (e.g., non-zero) coefficients; paragraph [0141], disclosing that scanned transform coefficients are entropy coded)… and decoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order; paragraphs [0196] – [0198], disclosing decoding of the encoded video in a process that mirrors the scan order of an encoding unit).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Regarding claims 2-5, claims 2-5 of U.S. Patent No. 12,238,345 in view of Sole discloses the same or similar limitations and are therefore not patentably distinct.
Claim 6 of Instant Application
A method of encoding an image, the method comprising:
obtaining coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including sub-block information and absolute value information, the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of a current transform coefficient of the sub-block in the current transform block is greater than 3;
encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order;
and generating a bitstream based on the coefficient information of the current transform block,
wherein the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient is encoded into the bitstream in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient,
wherein encoding the coefficient information comprises entropy-encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient, and
wherein entropy-encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not; and
encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+l, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315
A method of encoding an image, the method comprising:
obtaining coefficient information of a current transform block, the coefficient information including absolute value information of a current transform coefficient in the current transform block, the absolute value information indicating whether an absolute value of the current transform coefficient is greater than 3; and
generating a bitstream by encoding the coefficient information of the current transform block,
wherein encoding the coefficient information comprises entropy-encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient, and
wherein entropy-encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient comprises:
determining probability information of the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on significant coefficient flag information of neighboring transform coefficients of the current transform coefficient, the significant coefficient flag information indicating whether a neighboring transform coefficient is non-zero or not; and
encoding the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient based on the probability information,
wherein the neighboring transform coefficients include coefficients with coordinates of (x+2, y), (x+1, y+1), and (x, y+2), and
wherein x and y are representative of coordinates of the current transform coefficient.
Table 3.
Regarding claim 6, claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 discloses many of the same limitations as shown in Table 3.
Claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 does not explicitly disclose: the coefficient information including sub-block information… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient… encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order… wherein the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient is encoded into the bitstream in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient.
However, Sole discloses: the coefficient information including sub-block information (Sole: paragraphs [0080] – [0081], disclosing sub-block coefficient information)… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraphs [0069] and [0071], disclosing scanning order to determine zero and non-zero coefficients of a sub-block)… encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order)… wherein the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient is encoded into the bitstream in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraphs [0080] – [0082], disclosing that absolute value information is encoded based on the scanning order; paragraph [0122], disclosing scanning of significant (e.g., non-zero) coefficients; paragraph [0141], disclosing that scanned transform coefficients are entropy coded).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 6 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Regarding claim 7, claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 discloses many of the same limitations, similar to the discussion of claim 6, above.
Claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 does not explicitly disclose: the coefficient information including sub-block information… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient… encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order… wherein the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient is encoded into the bitstream in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient.
However, Sole discloses: the coefficient information including sub-block information (Sole: paragraphs [0080] – [0081], disclosing sub-block coefficient information)… the sub-block information indicating whether a sub-block in the current transform block includes at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraphs [0069] and [0071], disclosing scanning order to determine zero and non-zero coefficients of a sub-block)… encoding the current transform coefficient of the current transform block according to a diagonal scan order (Sole: Fig. 3, paragraphs [0069], [0079], [0122] and [0127], disclosing coding of transform coefficients according to a diagonal scan order)… wherein the absolute value information of the current transform coefficient is encoded into the bitstream in response to the sub-block information indicating that the sub-block in the current transform block includes the at least one non-zero coefficient (Sole: paragraphs [0080] – [0082], disclosing that absolute value information is encoded based on the scanning order; paragraph [0122], disclosing scanning of significant (e.g., non-zero) coefficients; paragraph [0141], disclosing that scanned transform coefficients are entropy coded).
At the time the application was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the scan ordering of Sole in the method of claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,882,315 in this manner in order to improve coding efficiency by arranging non-zero coefficients by scan order (Sole: paragraphs [0064] – [0065]).
Conclusion
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CHRISTOPHER T. BRANIFF
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2484
/CHRISTOPHER BRANIFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484