Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 19/172,528

VIDEO ENCODING AND VIDEO DECODING

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Apr 07, 2025
Priority
Apr 13, 2023 — CN 202310428833.7 +1 more
Examiner
WONG, ALLEN C
Art Unit
2400
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 8m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
678 granted / 814 resolved
+25.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
845
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.2%
-34.8% vs TC avg
§103
59.7%
+19.7% vs TC avg
§102
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
§112
4.5%
-35.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 814 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/14/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. 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)(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 1-3 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kang (US 2022/0394255). Regarding claim 1, Kang discloses a video decoding method (paragraph [49], fig.4, Kang discloses a decoding embodiment for decoding video data), comprising: obtaining, from a bitstream (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1), a target sub-block based on partitioning a coding block according to a residual block corresponding to the coding block (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1, and that information relating to the block splitting or partitioning is extracted for obtaining prediction information that includes residual information that can be utilized for reconstructing the current target block, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream), wherein entropy decoding is to be performed on the target sub-block (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1, and that information relating to the block splitting or partitioning is extracted for obtaining prediction information that includes residual information that can be utilized for reconstructing the current target block); obtaining transform sub-block information about at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block (paragraph [76], Kang discloses MTS or multiple transform selection is implemented for applying optimal transforms onto residual data of the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etcetera, and paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4); obtaining an inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block based on entropy decoding (paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.), and inverse quantizing the at least one transform sub-block with the transform sub-block information about the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.); and generating a reconstructed residual corresponding to the coding block based on inverse transforming the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [61], Kang discloses inverse transformer 430 performs inverse transformation on the inverse quantized coefficient data obtained from inverse quantizer 420, wherein paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.), wherein a residual of an area other than the target sub-block in the coding block is zero (paragraph [39], Kang discloses that residual samples of the untransformed subblocks that are not signaled and inferred as "0" or zero by the video decoding apparatus since untransformed subblock data is "an area other than the target sub-block" in the coding block, thus, Kang discloses a residual of an area other than the target sub-block in the coding block is zero for clearly distinguishing regions of a current target block that comprises relevant data versus non-relevant (ie. zero values) data). Regarding claim 2, Kang discloses wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block comprises width information and height information of the target sub-block (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks); and the width information of the target sub-block includes a first ratio of a width of the target sub-block to a width of the coding block (paragraph [25], Kang discloses a first ratio of 1:2:1 for the ternary tree partition split tree structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block, wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block; paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks); and the height information of the target sub-block includes a second ratio of a height of the target sub-block to a height of the coding block (paragraph [28], Kang discloses the second ratio of 1:3 for the QTBT (quadtree plus binary tree) structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block, and the second number of the ratio represents the height of the target sub-block; paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Regarding claim 3, wherein a value of the first ratio and a value of the second ratio are each any one of 1, ¼, ½, ¾, or ⅛ (paragraph [103], Kang discloses that the horizontal length (ie. width) can be either value of 1, or ½ or ¼, and the vertical length (ie. height) can be either value of 1, ½ or ¼, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [28], Kang discloses the second ratio of 1:3 for the QTBT (quadtree plus binary tree) structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block, and the second number of the ratio represents the height of the target sub-block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Regarding claim 12, Kang discloses a video encoding method (paragraph [19], fig.1, Kang discloses an encoding embodiment for encoding video data) comprising: obtaining a residual block corresponding to a to-be-encoded block (paragraph [37], fig.1, Kang discloses subtractor 130 generates a residual block by subtracting the prediction block generated by intra-predictor 122 or inter-predictor 124 from the current block); determining corresponding block partition information according to the residual block (paragraph [38], Kang discloses transformer 140 can split or partition the residual block into one or more transform blocks and apply transformation to the one or more transform blocks with one dimensional kernels or two-dimensional kernels with horizontal transformation, vertical transformation, and that DCT (discrete cosine transform) or DST (discrete sine transform) can be applied, paragraph [39], Kang discloses transformer 140 partitions the residual block into two sub-blocks in a horizontal or vertical direction), the block partition information including sub-block information about a target sub-block on which entropy coding is to be performed (paragraph [38], Kang discloses transformer 140 can split or partition the residual block into one or more transform blocks and apply transformation to the one or more transform blocks with one dimensional kernels or two-dimensional kernels with horizontal transformation, vertical transformation, and that DCT (discrete cosine transform) or DST (discrete sine transform) can be applied, paragraph [39], Kang discloses transformer 140 partitions the residual block into two sub-blocks in a horizontal or vertical direction, and that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4), and the target sub-block being obtained by partitioning the to-be-encoded block according to the residual block corresponding to the to-be-encoded block (paragraph [38], Kang discloses transformer 140 can split or partition the residual block into one or more transform blocks and apply transformation to the one or more transform blocks with one dimensional kernels or two-dimensional kernels with horizontal transformation, vertical transformation, and that DCT (discrete cosine transform) or DST (discrete sine transform) can be applied, paragraph [39], Kang discloses transformer 140 partitions the residual block into two sub-blocks in a horizontal or vertical direction, and the non-zero residual sample values that are not present in the current target block are signaled as zero values for efficiency and precision, thus only non-zero values of current sub-block data with residual data are encoded along with partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks is sent to the entropy encoder 155 to encode information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4); obtaining at least one transform sub-block based on partitioning the target sub-block (paragraph [38], Kang discloses transformer 140 can split or partition the residual block into one or more transform blocks and apply transformation to the one or more transform blocks with one dimensional kernels or two-dimensional kernels with horizontal transformation, vertical transformation, and that DCT (discrete cosine transform) or DST (discrete sine transform) can be applied, paragraph [39], Kang discloses transformer 140 partitions the residual block into two sub-blocks in a horizontal or vertical direction to generate transform sub-block data based on partitioning the target current sub-block data, and the non-zero residual sample values that are not present in the current target block are signaled as zero values for efficiency and precision, thus only non-zero values of current sub-block data with residual data are encoded along with partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks is sent to the entropy encoder 155 to encode information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4); and obtaining a quantization coefficient block based on transform processing and quantization processing the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [40], Kang discloses quantizer 145 for quantizing transform coefficients, wherein paragraph [38], Kang discloses transformer 140 can split or partition the residual block into one or more transform blocks and apply transformation to the one or more transform blocks with one dimensional kernels or two-dimensional kernels with horizontal transformation, vertical transformation, and that DCT (discrete cosine transform) or DST (discrete sine transform) can be applied, paragraph [39], Kang discloses transformer 140 partitions the residual block into two sub-blocks in a horizontal or vertical direction to generate transform sub-block data based on partitioning the target current sub-block data, and the non-zero residual sample values that are not present in the current target block are signaled as zero values for efficiency and precision, thus only non-zero values of current sub-block data with residual data are encoded along with partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks is sent to the entropy encoder 155 to encode information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4), and encoding based on the quantization coefficient block (paragraph [42], fig.1, Kang discloses entropy encoder 155 for encoding the quantized coefficient data to generate an encoded bitstream). Regarding claim 13, Kang discloses a video decoding apparatus (paragraph [49], fig.4, Kang discloses a decoding embodiment for decoding video data) comprising: processing circuitry (paragraph [51], Kang discloses implementing a combination of hardware and software together in that a microprocessor is utilized for executing the software to decode the video data) configured to: obtain, from a bitstream (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1), a target sub-block on which entropy decoding is to be performed based on partitioning a coding block according to a residual block corresponding to the coding block (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1, and that information relating to the block splitting or partitioning is extracted for obtaining prediction information that includes residual information that can be utilized for reconstructing the current target block, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream), wherein entropy decoding is to be performed on the target sub-block (paragraph [52], fig.4, Kang discloses video decoder 30 comprises entropy decoder 410 for decoding encoded bitstream as generated from encoding embodiment of fig.1, and that information relating to the block splitting or partitioning is extracted for obtaining prediction information that includes residual information that can be utilized for reconstructing the current target block); obtain transform sub-block information about at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block (paragraph [76], Kang discloses MTS or multiple transform selection is implemented for applying optimal transforms onto residual data of the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etcetera, and paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4); obtain an inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block based on entropy decoding (paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.) and inverse quantizing the at least one transform sub-block with the transform sub-block information about the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.); and generate a reconstructed residual corresponding to the coding block based on inverse transforming the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [61], Kang discloses inverse transformer 430 performs inverse transformation on the inverse quantized coefficient data obtained from inverse quantizer 420, wherein paragraph [60], Kang discloses that inverse quantizer 420 performs inverse quantization on the quantized transform coefficients as extracted by entropy decoder 410 and obtains the information from the frequency domain to the spatial domain based on the information about the coding mode of the residual block to reconstruct the residual block, and paragraph [39], fig.1, Kang discloses that entropy encoder 155 encodes information about the coding mode or transform mode of the residual block to provide transform subblock information to the entropy decoder 410 of decoder embodiment of fig.4, and paragraph [58], Kang discloses that entropy decoder 410 extracts coding mode of the residual block to determine partition type selected to partition the residual block into subblocks, information that identifies the encoded residual subblock from the bitstream, the quantization parameters, and also the information relating to quantized transform coefficients of the current target block, etc.), a residual of an area other than the target sub-block in the coding block being inferred to be zero (paragraph [39], Kang discloses that residual samples of the untransformed subblocks that are not signaled and inferred as "0" or zero by the video decoding apparatus since untransformed subblock data is "an area other than the target sub-block" in the coding block, thus, Kang discloses a residual of an area other than the target sub-block in the coding block is zero for clearly distinguishing regions of a current target block that comprises relevant data versus non-relevant (ie. zero values) data). Regarding claim 14, Kang discloses wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block comprises width information and height information of the target sub-block (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks); and the width information of the target sub-block comprises a first ratio of a width of the target sub-block to a width of the coding block (paragraph [25], Kang discloses a first ratio of 1:2:1 for the ternary tree partition split tree structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block, wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block; paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks); and the height information of the target sub-block comprises a second ratio of a height of the target sub-block to a height of the coding block (paragraph [28], Kang discloses the second ratio of 1:3 for the QTBT (quadtree plus binary tree) structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block, and the second number of the ratio represents the height of the target sub-block; paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Regarding claim 15, wherein a value of the first ratio and a value of the second ratio are each any one of 1, ¼, ½, ¾, or ⅛ (paragraph [103], Kang discloses that the horizontal length (ie. width) can be either value of 1, or ½ or ¼, and the vertical length (ie. height) can be either value of 1, ½ or ¼, wherein there are multiple ratios presented for SBT (sub block transform) with ratios of 2:2, 1:3 splitting and 3:1 splitting; paragraph [28], Kang discloses the second ratio of 1:3 for the QTBT (quadtree plus binary tree) structure of the current target sub-block of the coding tree block wherein the first number of the ratio represents the width of the target sub-block, and the second number of the ratio represents the height of the target sub-block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 4-11 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang (US 2022/0394255) in view of Lim (US 2022/0248017). Regarding claim 4, Kang does not disclose wherein the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is equal to the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is equal to the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses illustrating different shapes or partitioned sub blocks in that the width of the target sub block can be ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses illustrating different shapes or partitioned sub blocks in that the height of the target sub block can be ¼ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is equal to the width of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is equal to the height of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1); the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block (H/2 or height of the target sub-block is 1/2 of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/2 or the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/2 or the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3W/4 or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block); or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3W/4 or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/2 or the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 5, Kang does not disclose wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block further comprises location information of the target sub-block that indicates a location of the target sub-block in the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block further comprises location information of the target sub-block that indicates a location of the target sub-block in the coding block (paragraph [1415], Lim discloses in the SBT (sub block transform) mode, based on partitioning direction information and sub-block location information is illustrated in fig.54, and paragraph [760], Lim discloses sub-block information is included in the current target block for indicating location of target sub-block in the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 6, Kang does not disclose wherein the location of the target sub-block in the coding block comprises at least one of: an upper left corner of the coding block, an upper right corner of the coding block, a lower left corner of the coding block, a lower right corner of the coding block, an upper side of the coding block, a lower side of the coding block, a left side of the coding block, or a right side of the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the location of the target sub-block in the coding block comprises at least one of: an upper left corner of the coding block (paragraph [922], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located in the upper left region of the current target block), an upper right corner of the coding block (paragraph [458], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the upper right corner of the coding block), a lower left corner of the coding block (paragraph [459], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower left corner of the coding block), a lower right corner of the coding block (paragraph [452], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower right corner of the coding block), an upper side of the coding block (paragraph [455], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the upper side of the coding block), a lower side of the coding block (paragraph [455], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower side of the coding block), a left side of the coding block (paragraph [454], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the left side of the coding block), or a right side of the coding block (paragraph [454], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the right side of the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 7, Kang discloses wherein the transform sub-block information about the at least one transform sub-block comprises width information (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks), height information (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Kang does not disclose location information of each of the at least one transform sub-block. However, Lim teaches location information of each of the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [1415], Lim discloses in the SBT (sub block transform) mode, based on partitioning direction information and sub-block location information is illustrated in fig.54, and paragraph [760], Lim discloses sub-block information is included in the current target block for indicating location of target sub-block in the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 8, Kang does not disclose wherein a size of the at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block meets a condition that at least one of a height and a width of the transform sub-block is an integer power of 2. However, Lim teaches wherein a size of the at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block meets a condition that at least one of a height and a width of the transform sub-block is an integer power of 2 (paragraph [706], Lim discloses implementation of sub-block partitioning mode information for obtaining information on the transform sub-block by obtaining data on how the sub-block is partitioned, and paragraph [707], Lim discloses obtaining partitioning direction information, and paragraph [708], Lim obtains sub-block partitioning mode information, wherein paragraph [714], Lim discloses that the sub-block is 1x16, in that 16 represents the height, which 16 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to fourth power or 24 = 16, and in the example that the sub-block is partitioned to the size of 16x1, 16 represents the width, which 16 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to fourth power or 24 = 16, and also, paragraph [715], Lim discloses the sub-block is 2x8, in that 2 represents the width and 8 represents the height, and wherein 2 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the first power or 21 = 2, and 8 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the third power or 23 = 8, and paragraph [716], Lim discloses the size of sub-block is 4x4, in that 4 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the second power or 22= 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 9, Kang does not disclose wherein when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into four transform sub-blocks; when a width of the target sub-block is equal to a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into three transform sub-blocks in a height direction; when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is equal to a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into three transform sub-blocks in a width direction; when a width of the target sub-block is ¼ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a height direction; when a width of the target sub-block is ½ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a height direction; when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ¼ of a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a width direction; or when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block and a height of the target sub-block is ½ of a height of the coding block, the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a width direction. However, Lim teaches wherein when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into four transform sub-blocks (paragraph [197], Lim discloses partitioning into four coding units or sub-blocks); when a width of the target sub-block is equal to a width of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1) and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into three transform sub-blocks in a height direction (paragraph [199], Lim discloses partitioning into three sub-coding units or sub-blocks in either a height direction or width direction for a ternary tree partition structure); when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is equal to a height of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1), the target sub-block is partitioned into three transform sub-blocks in a width direction (paragraph [199], Lim discloses partitioning into three sub-coding units or sub-blocks in either a height direction or width direction for a ternary tree partition structure); when a width of the target sub-block is ¼ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses illustrating different shapes or partitioned sub blocks in that the width of the target sub block can be ¼ of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a height direction (paragraph [742], Lim discloses the sub-block can be partitioned into two sub-blocks in both height direction and width direction); when a width of the target sub-block is ½ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/2 or the width of the target sub-block is 1/2 of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is ¾ of a height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a height direction (paragraph [742], Lim discloses the sub-block can be partitioned into two sub-blocks in both height direction and width direction); when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is ¼ of a height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is 1/4 of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a width direction (paragraph [742], Lim discloses the sub-block can be partitioned into two sub-blocks in both height direction and width direction); or when a width of the target sub-block is ¾ of a width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block) and a height of the target sub-block is ½ of a height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/2 or the height of the target sub-block is 1/2 of the height of the coding block), the target sub-block is partitioned into two transform sub-blocks in a width direction (paragraph [742], Lim discloses the sub-block can be partitioned into two sub-blocks in both height direction and width direction). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 10, Kang does not disclose wherein the inverse transforming comprises: selecting, from set transform modes, a horizontal transform mode and a vertical transform mode corresponding to each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block, wherein the set transform modes includes one or more of: a DCT2, a DCT5, a DCT8, a DST1, a DST7, or a transform skip mode; and inverse transforming each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block according to the horizontal transform mode and the vertical transform mode corresponding to each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block. However, Lim teaches wherein the inverse transforming (paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients) comprises: selecting, from set transform modes, a horizontal transform mode and a vertical transform mode corresponding to each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block, wherein the set transform modes includes one or more of: a DCT2, a DCT5, a DCT8, a DST1, a DST7, or a transform skip mode (paragraph [286], Lim discloses implementing horizontal transform mode and vertical transform mode that includes DCT2 transform mode, paragraph [607], Lim discloses implementing DCT5, DCT8, DST1 and DST7 transform mode for performing adaptive multiple transform modes, and paragraph [164], Lim discloses transform skip mode); and inverse transforming each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block according to the horizontal transform mode and the vertical transform mode corresponding to each inverse quantization coefficient sub-block (paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients, wherein paragraph [286], Lim discloses implementing horizontal transform mode and vertical transform mode that includes DCT2 transform mode, paragraph [607], Kang discloses implementing DCT5, DCT8, DST1 and DST7 transform mode for performing adaptive multiple transform modes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 11, Kang does not disclose replacing, when a width of a first inverse quantization coefficient sub-block in the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block is greater than a first set threshold, a horizontal transform mode of the first inverse quantization coefficient sub-block with the DCT2 transform mode; and replacing, when a height of a second inverse quantization coefficient sub-block in the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block is greater than a second set threshold, a vertical transform mode of the second inverse quantization coefficient sub-block with the DCT2 transform mode. However, Lim teaches comprising: replacing, when a width of a first inverse quantization coefficient sub-block in the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block is greater than a first set threshold (paragraph [606], Lim discloses that adaptive multiple transform method is implemented for replacing transform modes based on the data detected, wherein paragraph [286], Lim discloses DCT-2 transform mode can be implemented on a selective basis when the width reaches a predetermined range, thus initiating the selection of DCT-2 transform for processing the inverse quantization coefficient of the sub-block to replace the horizontal transform mode, wherein paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients), a horizontal transform mode of the first inverse quantization coefficient sub-block with the DCT2 transform mode (paragraph [606], Lim discloses that adaptive multiple transform method is implemented for replacing transform modes based on the data detected, wherein paragraph [286], Lim discloses DCT-2 transform mode can be implemented on a selective basis when the width reaches a predetermined range, thus initiating the selection of DCT-2 transform for processing the inverse quantization coefficient of the sub-block to replace the horizontal transform mode, wherein paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients); and replacing, when a height of a second inverse quantization coefficient sub-block in the inverse quantization coefficient sub-block corresponding to the at least one transform sub-block is greater than a second set threshold (paragraph [606], Lim discloses that adaptive multiple transform method is implemented for replacing transform modes based on the data detected, wherein paragraph [286], Lim discloses DCT-2 transform mode can be implemented on a selective basis when the height reaches a predetermined range, thus initiating the selection of DCT-2 transform for processing the inverse quantization coefficient of the sub-block to replace the vertical transform mode, wherein paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients), a vertical transform mode of the second inverse quantization coefficient sub-block with the DCT2 transform mode (paragraph [606], Lim discloses that adaptive multiple transform method is implemented for replacing transform modes based on the data detected, wherein paragraph [286], Lim discloses DCT-2 transform mode can be implemented on a selective basis when the height reaches a predetermined range, thus initiating the selection of DCT-2 transform for processing the inverse quantization coefficient of the sub-block to replace the vertical transform mode, wherein paragraph [430], Lim discloses inverse transformer 430 for performing inverse transformation of inverse quantized transform coefficients). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 16, Kang does not disclose wherein the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is equal to the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is equal to the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block; the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block; or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block, and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses illustrating different shapes or partitioned sub blocks in that the width of the target sub block can be ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses illustrating different shapes or partitioned sub blocks in that the height of the target sub block can be ¼ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is equal to the width of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses that 3W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is equal to the height of the coding block (paragraph [789], Lim discloses that the current target block can partitioned in only one direction, either the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction or the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, when the current target block is partitioned in vertical direction, then the height of the subblock is set to 1, and when the current target block is partitioned in horizontal direction, then the width of the subblock is set to 1); the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block (H/2 or height of the target sub-block is 1/2 of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/4 or width of the target sub-block is ¼ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/2 or the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses W/2 or the width of the target sub-block is ½ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¾ of the height of the coding block); the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3W/4 or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/4 or the height of the target sub-block is ¼ of the height of the coding block); or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses 3W/4 or the width of the target sub-block is ¾ of the width of the coding block), and the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block (paragraph [827], fig.38, Lim discloses multiple partitioning types of coding block data in that coding block can be partitioned vertically and horizontally, wherein Lim discloses H/2 or the height of the target sub-block is ½ of the height of the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 17, Kang does not disclose wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block further comprises location information of the target sub-block that indicates a location of the target sub-block in the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the transform sub-block information about the target sub-block further comprises location information of the target sub-block that indicates a location of the target sub-block in the coding block (paragraph [1415], Lim discloses in the SBT (sub block transform) mode, based on partitioning direction information and sub-block location information is illustrated in fig.54, and paragraph [760], Lim discloses sub-block information is included in the current target block for indicating location of target sub-block in the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 18, Kang does not disclose wherein the location of the target sub-block in the coding block comprises at least one of: an upper left corner of the coding block, an upper right corner of the coding block, a lower left corner of the coding block, a lower right corner of the coding block, an upper side of the coding block, a lower side of the coding block, a left side of the coding block, or a right side of the coding block. However, Lim teaches wherein the location of the target sub-block in the coding block comprises at least one of: an upper left corner of the coding block (paragraph [922], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located in the upper left region of the current target block), an upper right corner of the coding block (paragraph [458], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the upper right corner of the coding block), a lower left corner of the coding block (paragraph [459], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower left corner of the coding block), a lower right corner of the coding block (paragraph [452], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower right corner of the coding block), an upper side of the coding block (paragraph [455], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the upper side of the coding block), a lower side of the coding block (paragraph [455], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the lower side of the coding block), a left side of the coding block (paragraph [454], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the left side of the coding block), or a right side of the coding block (paragraph [454], Lim discloses that the target sub block can be located on the right side of the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 19, Kang discloses wherein the transform sub-block information about the at least one transform sub-block comprises width information (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks), height information (paragraph [102], Kang discloses sub-block transform information is obtained about the current target subblock, wherein paragraph [103], Kang discloses vertical splitting type for determining the width of the transform block, and the horizontal splitting type for determining the height of the transform block; paragraph [39], Kang discloses that multiple partition types according to partitioning direction and partition ratios are available for processing target sub-blocks). Kang does not disclose location information of each of the at least one transform sub-block. However, Lim teaches location information of each of the at least one transform sub-block (paragraph [1415], Lim discloses in the SBT (sub block transform) mode, based on partitioning direction information and sub-block location information is illustrated in fig.54, and paragraph [760], Lim discloses sub-block information is included in the current target block for indicating location of target sub-block in the coding block). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Regarding claim 20, Kang does not disclose wherein a size of the at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block meets a condition that at least one of a height and a width of the transform sub-block is an integer power of 2. However, Lim teaches wherein a size of the at least one transform sub-block obtained by partitioning the target sub-block meets a condition that at least one of a height and a width of the transform sub-block is an integer power of 2 (paragraph [706], Lim discloses implementation of sub-block partitioning mode information for obtaining information on the transform sub-block by obtaining data on how the sub-block is partitioned, and paragraph [707], Lim discloses obtaining partitioning direction information, and paragraph [708], Lim obtains sub-block partitioning mode information, wherein paragraph [714], Lim discloses that the sub-block is 1x16, in that 16 represents the height, which 16 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to fourth power or 24 = 16, and in the example that the sub-block is partitioned to the size of 16x1, 16 represents the width, which 16 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to fourth power or 24 = 16, and also, paragraph [715], Lim discloses the sub-block is 2x8, in that 2 represents the width and 8 represents the height, and wherein 2 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the first power or 21 = 2, and 8 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the third power or 23 = 8, and paragraph [716], Lim discloses the size of sub-block is 4x4, in that 4 is an integer obtained by taking 2 to the second power or 22= 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kang and Lim together as a whole for improving encoding and decoding efficiency (Lim’s paragraph [4]). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN C WONG whose telephone number is (571)272-7341. The examiner can normally be reached on Flex Monday-Thursday 9:30am-7:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sath V Perungavoor can be reached on 571-272-7455. 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. /ALLEN C WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 07, 2025
Application Filed
Jun 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (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
83%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+11.6%)
2y 11m (~1y 8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 814 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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