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 .
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 1-4 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 in view of Fu et al. (US 2019/0098305 A1, referred to herein as “Fu”).
Claim 1 of Instant Application
A three-dimensional data encoding method, comprising:
calculating difference values each of which is a difference between (i) a value of attribute information of a three-dimensional point and (ii) a predicted value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point;
generating zero-run-length information indicating a number of consecutive zero difference values in a code sequence constituted by the difference values, each of the zero difference values indicating each of the difference values is zero; and
generating a bitstream including the zero-run-length information,
wherein the attribute information includes one or more components,
each of the difference values includes one or more difference components corresponding to the one or more components, and
each of the zero difference values includes the one or more difference components all of which are 0.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054
A three-dimensional data encoding method, comprising:
calculating difference values each of which is a difference between (i) a value of attribute information of a three-dimensional point and (ii) a predicted value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point;
generating information indicating a number of consecutive zero difference values in a code sequence constituted by the difference values, each of the zero difference values indicating each of the difference values is zero; and
generating a bitstream including the information,
wherein the attribute information includes components,
each of the difference values includes difference components corresponding to the components, and
the information indicates the total number of the zero difference values each including the difference components all of which are 0.
Table 1.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 discloses many of the same or similar limitations as shown in Table 1.
Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 does not disclose generating zero-run-length information.
However, Fu discloses generating zero-run-length information (Fu: paragraph [0041], disclosing zero-run-length coding for quantized coefficients and generation of associated syntax information).
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 zero-run-length coding of Fu in the method of claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 in this manner in order to more efficiently process transform information in block-based coding (Fu: paragraphs [0004] and [0040] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 3, the claim recites analogous limitations to claim 1, above, and is therefore rejected on the same premise. (Note that Fu discloses implementation via memory and processor in paragraphs [0235] – [0236].)
Claim 2 of Instant Application
A three-dimensional data decoding method, comprising:
obtaining zero-run-length information from a bitstream, the zero- run-length information indicating a number of consecutive zero difference values in a code sequence constituted by difference values, each of the zero difference values indicating each of the difference values is zero, the difference values each being a difference between (i) a value of attribute information of a three-dimensional point and (ii) a predicted value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point; and
calculating each value of the attribute information by adding the predicted value to a difference value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point,
wherein the attribute information includes one or more components,
each of the difference values includes one or more difference components corresponding to the one or more components, and
each of the zero difference values includes the one or more difference components all of which are 0.
Claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054
A three-dimensional data decoding method, comprising:
obtaining information from a bitstream, the information indicating a number of consecutive zero difference values in a code sequence constituted by difference values, each of the zero difference values indicating each of the difference values is zero, the difference values each being a difference between (i) a value of attribute information of a three-dimensional point and (ii) a predicted value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point; and
calculating each value of the attribute information by adding the predicted value to a difference value corresponding to the attribute information of the three-dimensional point,
wherein the attribute information includes components,
each of the difference values includes difference components corresponding to the components, and
the information indicates the total number of the zero difference values each including the difference components all of which are 0.
Table 2.
Regarding claim 2, claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 discloses many of the same or similar limitations as shown in Table 2.
Claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 does not explicitly disclose obtaining zero-run-length information.
However, Fu discloses obtaining zero-run-length information (Fu: paragraph [0041], disclosing zero-run-length coding for quantized coefficients and generation of associated syntax information).
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 zero-run-length coding of Fu in the method of claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054.
One would have been motivated to modify claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 12,262,054 in this manner in order to more efficiently process transform information in block-based coding (Fu: paragraphs [0004] and [0040] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites analogous limitations to claim 2, above, and is therefore rejected on the same premise. (Note that Fu discloses implementation via memory and processor in paragraphs [0235] – [0236].)
Conclusion
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CHRISTOPHER T. BRANIFF
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2484
/CHRISTOPHER BRANIFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2484