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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The claim recites, “a method of transmitting a bitstream… the bitstream being decodable by a decoder configured to….” The majority of the claim language pertains to the configuration of the decoder. There is ambiguity about whether the configuration of the decoder limits the scope of the claim. The method does not expressly perform these steps recited in the configuration of the decoder; instead, the configuration of the decoder describes the bitstream, rendering it intended use of the bitstream, and non-limiting on the method.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444).
Regarding Claim 9, Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444)discloses a method of transmitting a bitstream (transmission of moving images via a communication line [0004]), comprising:
receiving a video signal (moving images [0004]);
generating an encoded bitstream (coding device 100 receives the input moving images in units of frames, performs coding of the moving images, and outputs a coded stream [0073]) including a coded picture (moving images [0004]) …;
…
and transmitting the encoded bitstream (transmission of moving images via a communication line [0004]).
The remainder of Claim 9 does not have patentable weight.
Regarding Claim 10, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 11, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 12, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 13, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 9.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) in view of Lee (US PG Publication 2017/0332099) and Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444).
Regarding Claim 1, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses a video encoder (coding standard [0003]; video encoder [0112]) comprising circuitry (hardware, software, combination [0117]) configured to:
receive a video signal (video sequence [0037]);
generate an encoded bitstream including a coded picture (video bitstream [0112]), the coded picture including a first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) having a first contiguous plurality of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]; consecutive CTUs [0043]; array of, e.g., 3x5 CTUs [0044]) and a second region (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]) having a second contiguous plurality of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]), the bitstream being decodable by a decoder (parse the video bitstream at the decoder [0112]) configured to receive the bitstream (video bitstream at the video decoder [0112]) and further configured to:
construct for each coding unit (coding unit, CU, in the LCU/CTU [0003]) in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) a motion vector candidate list (GMC mode selected for the region, merge index signaled for the region [0027]; merge candidate list construction [0093]), each motion vector candidate list (merge candidate list [0093]) having a common motion vector (index points to a position coded in the GMC mode [0093]), wherein the common motion vector (global motion model [0080]) is shared (there is one global motion model for the unit [0080]) by each of the first contiguous plurality of coding units (coding unit, CU, in the LCU/CTU [0003]) in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]), wherein the order of the motion vector candidates in each motion vector candidate list (GMC mode selected for the region, merge index signaled for the region [0027]) is determined (inherent: there is a list and an index in the list, therefore the elements in the list have an order) …;
decode the first plurality (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) using the common motion vector (global motion compensation in a coded region [0037]) from the motion vector candidate lists (using the merge index, a position in the merge candidate list that points to a position coded in global motion compensation mode [0093]), whereby a picture region with common motion is reconstructed in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]);
ascertain from the bitstream (parse the video bitstream at the decoder [0112]) individually determined motion vectors (the regions using the LMC mode, regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region, where the MVs can be explicitly signaled or inferred by prediction [0080]) for each coding unit (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) of the second region (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]), wherein adjacent coding units in the second region have different individually determined motion vectors (regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region, where the MVs can be explicitly signaled or inferred by prediction [0080]), each individually determined motion vector being one of a translational motion vector (translation model, all pixels in the region have the same motion direction and magnitude [0006]-[0007]) or a control point motion vector for affine motion (The six parameters for the affine model can be derived based on three known motion vectors for three different locations [0014]);
and decode the second plurality of coding units (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]) using the individually determined motion vectors (regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region [0080]), whereby local motion in the second region is reconstructed (where the MVs are inferred by prediction [0080]).
Liu does not disclose, but Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444)) teaches wherein the order of the motion vector candidates (assign indexes to global motion vectors 1-3 [0415], Figs. 28, 30A, 30B) … is determined such that the common motion vector (global motion vector used most frequently [0415]) is first (is assigned to the index with the smaller number of bits [0415]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to order the global motion vector of Liu first in the merge list of Liu because Okada teaches that assigning a lower index to the motion vector used most frequently reduces the coding amount of the index [0415], improving coding efficiency while maintaining video quality.
Regarding Claim 2, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses the encoder of claim 1, wherein the decoder receiving the bitstream is configured to determine global motion is indicated for the coded picture (enabling flag indicating global motion is enabled [0037] – [0046]).
Regarding Claim 3, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses the encoder of claim 1, wherein the common motion vector includes a control point motion vector (global motion affine – three known motion vectors for three different locations [0014]).
Regarding Claim 4, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses the encoder of claim 3, wherein the control point motion vector is a translational motion vector (global motion translational model [0006]-[0008]).
Regarding Claim 5, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses the encoder of claim 3, wherein the control point motion vector is a vector of a four parameter affine motion model (scaling model has four parameters [0009]-[0011]).
Regarding Claim 6, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses the encoder of claim 3, wherein the control point motion vector is a vector of a six parameter affine motion model (six parameter affine model [0012]-[0014]).
Regarding Claim 7, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses a decoder, the decoder (video decoder [0112]) comprising circuitry (hardware, software, combination [0117]) configured to:
receive a bitstream including a coded picture (video bitstream at the video decoder [0112]), the coded picture including a first region with common motion (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) having a first contiguous plurality of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) and a second region with local motion (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]) having a second contiguous plurality of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) and an intra-predicted coding unit (intra prediction is used on a block basis [0004]);
construct for each coding unit (coding unit, CU, in the LCU/CTU [0003]) in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) a motion vector candidate list (GMC mode selected for the region, merge index signaled for the region [0027]; merge candidate list construction [0093]), each motion vector candidate list (merge candidate list [0093]) having a common motion vector (a position in the merge candidate list that points to a position coded in global motion compensation mode [0093]), wherein the common motion vector (global motion model [0080]) is shared (there is one global motion model for the unit [0080]) by each of the first contiguous plurality of coding units (coding unit, CU, in the LCU/CTU [0003]) in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]), wherein the motion vector candidate lists are ordered (inherent: there is a list and an index in the list, therefore the elements in the list have an order) …;
decode the first plurality (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]) of coding units (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) using the common motion vector (global motion compensation in a coded region [0037]) from the motion vector candidate lists (using the merge index, a position in the merge candidate list that points to a position coded in global motion compensation mode [0093]), whereby a picture region with common motion is reconstructed in the first region (segment a current picture into regions—global motion selected for region [0080]);
ascertain from the bitstream (parse the video bitstream at the decoder [0112]) individually determined motion vectors (the regions using the LMC mode, regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region, where the MVs can be explicitly signaled or inferred by prediction [0080]) for each coding unit (CTU, slice, tile [0037]) of the second (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]) contiguous plurality (CTU, slice, tile [0037]), wherein adjacent coding units in the second contiguous plurality have different individually determined motion vectors (regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region, where the MVs can be explicitly signaled or inferred by prediction [0080]), each individually determined motion vector being one of a translational motion vector for translational motion (translation model, all pixels in the region have the same motion direction and magnitude [0006]-[0007]) or a control point motion vector (derived based on known motion vectors for different locations [0014]) for four parameter (scaling model has four parameters [0009]-[0011]) or six parameter affine motion (six parameter affine model [0012]-[0014]);
decode the second plurality of coding units (segment a current picture into regions—local motion selected for region [0080]) using the individually determined motion vectors (regular MVs can be applied to each block within the region [0080]), whereby local motion in the second region is reconstructed (where the MVs are inferred by prediction [0080]);
and decode the intra-predicted coding unit using a prediction from a previously decoded coding unit in the picture (intra prediction is used on a block basis [0004]).
Liu does not disclose, but Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444)) teaches wherein the motion vector candidate lists (assign indexes to global motion vectors 1-3 [0415], Figs. 28, 30A, 30B) are ordered (assign indexes to global motion vectors 1-3 [0415], Figs. 28, 30A, 30B) such that the common motion vector (global motion vector used most frequently [0415]) is first (is assigned to the index with the smaller number of bits [0415]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to order the global motion vector of Liu first in the merge list of Liu because Okada teaches that assigning a lower index to the motion vector used most frequently reduces the coding amount of the index [0415], improving coding efficiency while maintaining video quality.
Regarding Claim 8, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 7.
Regarding Claim 9, Liu (US PG Publication 2020/0260111) discloses
motion vector being one of a translational motion vector (translational model [0006]-[0008]) or a control point motion vector for four parameter (scaling model has four parameters [0009]-[0011]) or six parameter affine motion (three known motion vectors for three different locations [0014]; six parameter affine model [0012]-[0014]).
Liu does not disclose, but Okada (US PG Publication 2007/0025444)) teaches a method of transmitting a bitstream (transmission of moving images via a communication line [0004]), comprising:
wherein the motion vector candidate lists (assign indexes to global motion vectors 1-3 [0415], Figs. 28, 30A, 30B) are ordered (assign indexes to global motion vectors 1-3 [0415], Figs. 28, 30A, 30B) such that the common motion vector (global motion vector used most frequently [0415]) is first (is assigned to the index with the smaller number of bits [0415]);
and transmitting the encoded bitstream (transmission of moving images via a communication line [0004]).
The remainder of Claim 9 is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 1.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to order the global motion vector of Liu first in the merge list of Liu because Okada teaches that assigning a lower index to the motion vector used most frequently reduces the coding amount of the index [0415], improving coding efficiency while maintaining video quality.
Regarding Claim 10, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 3.
Regarding Claim 11, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 4.
Regarding Claim 12, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 5.
Regarding Claim 13, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 6.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks filed 6/29/2026 have been considered but are moot in light of the combination of references relied upon in this office action: Okada ranks global motion vectors, which are global and common for all blocks of the region, based on their frequency, ranking the most frequently used one first.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 6084912 A - contiguous blocks with global motion, pixel recursive motion; primary reference. includes intra coding
US 20200413090 A1 – global motion based on camera motion vector
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHADAN E HAGHANI whose telephone number is (571)270-5631. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM.
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/SHADAN E HAGHANI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2485
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