Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 19/054,345

ENHANCED HANDLING OF NEURAL-NETWORK POST-FILTER IDS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 14, 2025
Examiner
NOH, JAE NAM
Art Unit
2481
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Bytedance Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 2m
To Grant
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
382 granted / 445 resolved
+27.8% vs TC avg
Minimal -10% lift
Without
With
+-10.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 2m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
471
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
§103
37.5%
-2.5% vs TC avg
§102
31.5%
-8.5% vs TC avg
§112
7.8%
-32.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 445 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION This action is in response to the application filed on 2/14/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The references listed on the Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 3/7/2025 has/have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449). Claim Mapping Notation In this office action, following notations are being used to refer to the paragraph numbers or column number and lines of portions of the cited reference. In this office action, following notations are being used to refer to the paragraph numbers or column number and lines of portions of the cited reference. [0005] (Paragraph number [0005]) C5 (Column 5) Pa5 (Page 5) S5 (Section 5) Furthermore, unless necessary to distinguish from other references in this action, “et al.” will be omitted when referring to the reference. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. (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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a2) as being anticipated by DESHPANDE et al. (US 20250378588 A1) 1. A method for processing visual media data comprising: performing a conversion between visual media data and a bitstream of the visual media data based on a rule, “[0003] Video compression techniques enable data requirements for storing and transmitting video data to be reduced… Entropy encoded residual data and syntax elements may be included in data structures forming a compliant bitstream.” wherein the bitstream comprises at least one neural-network post-filter characteristics (NNPFC) supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message, and “[0168] nnpfc_mode_idc equal to 1 specifies that the post-processing filter associated with the nnpfc_id value is a neural network represented by the ISO/IEC 15938-17 bitstream contained in this SEI message.” wherein the rule specifies that an NNPFC SEI message with a first identification syntax element in a specified range is ignored during the conversion. “[0166] Values of nnpfc_id from 256 to 511, inclusive, and from 2.sup.31 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive, are reserved for future use by ITU-T | ISO/IEC. Decoders encountering a value of nnpfc_id in the range of 256 to 511, inclusive, or in the range of 2.sup.31 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive, shall ignore it.” 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified range is from 256 to 511, inclusive, or from 2.sup.31 to 2.sup.32-2, inclusive. “[0166] Values of nnpfc_id from 256 to 511, inclusive, and from 2.sup.31 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive, are reserved for future use by ITU-T | ISO/IEC. Decoders encountering a value of nnpfc_id in the range of 256 to 511, inclusive, or in the range of 2.sup.31 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive, shall ignore it.” 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first identification syntax element is nnpfc_id. “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a value of the first identification syntax element is in a range of 0 to 2.sup.32-2, inclusive. “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first identification syntax element contains an identifying number used to identify a neural-network post-processing filter (NNPF). “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a second identification syntax element is included in the bitstream to indicate the first identification syntax element corresponding to the NNPF used for a current picture of the visual media data, and wherein a value of the second identification syntax element is in a range of 0 to 2.sup.32-2, inclusive. “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the NNPF used for the current picture is specified by one or more NNPFC SEI messages that pertain to the current picture and have the first identification syntax element equal to the second identification syntax element. “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the conversion includes encoding the visual media data into the bitstream. “[0003] Video compression techniques enable data requirements for storing and transmitting video data to be reduced… Entropy encoded residual data and syntax elements may be included in data structures forming a compliant bitstream.” 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the conversion includes decoding the visual media data from the bitstream. “[0018] In one example, a method of decoding video data comprises receiving a neural network post-filter characteristics message, parsing a syntax element identifying a padding type corresponding to the neural network post-filter characteristics message, wherein a padding type includes wrap padding.” Regarding the claims 10-19, they recite elements that are at least included in the claims 1-7, and 1-6 above but in a different claim form and/or encoding/decoding counterpart that are reciprocal. Therefore, the same rationale for the rejection of the claims 1-7, and 1-6 applies. Regarding the processor, memory and storage medium in the claims, see [351]-[356]. 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein a second identification syntax element is included in the bitstream to indicate the first identification syntax element corresponding to the NNPF used for a current picture of the visual media data, “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” wherein a value of the second identification syntax element is in a range of 0 to 2.sup.32-2, inclusive, and wherein the NNPF used for the current picture is specified by one or more NNPFC SEI messages that pertain to the current picture and have the first identification syntax element equal to the second identification syntax element. “[0165] nnpfc_id contains an identifying number that may be used to identify a post-processing filter. The value of nnpfc_id shall be in the range of 0 to 2.sup.32−2, inclusive.” Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. CHUJOH et al. (US 20230421785 A1) and Choi et al. (US 20230421785 A1) disclose relevant art related to the subject matter of the present invention. A shortened statutory period for reply to this action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. An extension of time may be obtained under 37 CFR 1.136(a). However, in no event, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAE N. NOH whose telephone number is (571) 270-0686. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Vaughn can be reached on (571) 272-3922. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JAE N NOH/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 2481
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 14, 2025
Application Filed
Feb 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (-10.0%)
2y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 445 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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