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 .
Claim Interpretation
Patentable weight is given to data stored on a computer-readable medium when there exists a functional relationship between the data and its associated substrate. MPEP 2111.05 III. For example, if a claim is drawn to a computer-readable medium containing programming, a functional relationship exists if the programming “performs some function with respect to the computer with which it is associated.” Id. However, if the claim recites that the computer-readable medium merely serves as a support for information or data, no functional relationship exists and the information or data is not given patentable weight. Id.
At present claim 20, is directed to “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream is generated by an encoder performing an encoding method”, the encoding method comprising a plurality of steps. While the encoding method may be performed by an intended computer, the encoding method is not stored on the computer readable storage medium. Rather, only resulting bitstream data is stored on the computer readable storage medium. It is the bitstream itself, therefore, that must have a functional relationship. Because there are no recitations of the bitstream causing an intended computer to perform some function, Examiner finds that there is no disclosed or claimed functional relationship between the stored bitstream and the medium. Instead, the medium is merely a support or carrier for the bitstream being stored. Therefore, the bitstream stored and the way such bitstream is decoded are not given patentable weight. As such, claim 20 is subject to a prior art rejection based on any non-transitory computer readable storage medium known before the earliest effective filing date of the present application.
Examiner Remarks
Examiner interprets the claims in the alternative only.
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.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al. (US 2024/0022739) (hereinafter Li).
Regarding claim 20:
As discussed above, claim 20 has been interpreted as nonfunctional descriptive material under MPEP 2111.05(III) and associated case law cited therein because claim 20 recites “a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream is generated by an encoder performing an encoding method.” As such, claim 20 is subject to a prior art rejection based on any non-transitory computer readable storage medium known before the earliest effective filing date of the present application. In other words, the proper interpretation of claim 20 is merely a machine-readable media in which the media is merely support or carrier for the bitstream being stored wherein the bitstream stored and the way such bitstream is encoded should not be given patentable weight. Li teaches a computer readable storage medium storing a bitstream comprising video information (Li, e.g. Fig. 4, element 405, and Fig. 6, element 660, and pars. 65 and 93: depicting and describing that encoded video data is stored on a storage device, wherein the encoded video data is the equivalent of the bitstream, and wherein the storage device is the equivalent of the computer readable storage medium).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 - 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 2024/0022739) (hereinafter Li) in view of Zhao et al. (US 2024/0022710) (hereinafter Zhao).
Regarding claims 1, 19, and 20, Li teaches a decoding method, applied to a decoder, an encoding method applied to an encoder, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a bitstream, the bitstream is generated by an encoder performing the encoding method, wherein the encoding and decoding methods comprise:
determining a first color component block for a current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 202 – 204: depicting and describing that the system determines a luma block for the current block, wherein the luma block is the equivalent of the first color component);
when a prediction mode for the first color component block meets a first condition, determining a target Block Vector (BV) parameter of the current block; (e.g. par. 199: describing that when the luma component is coded in IBC, IntraIBC or IntraTMP mode, and the system determines a chroma block vector of the current block, wherein the luma component coded in IBC, IntraIBC or IntraTMP is the equivalent of the first color component block meeting a first condition, and wherein the chroma block vector is the equivalent of the target block vector parameter of the current block), and
predicting, according to the target BV parameter, a second color component of the current block, to determine a predicted value of the second color component of the current block (e.g. Figs. 19 and 20, and pars. 153 – 157, 220 – 223, and 240 – 243: depicting and describing that the system determines a reference chroma block based on the chroma BV that is derived from the luma BV, wherein the chroma block is the equivalent of the second color component of the current block and wherein the chroma BV derived from the luma BV is the equivalent of the target BV parameter) ; and
Li does not explicitly teach:
determining a target symmetric relationship according to the target BV parameter of the current block; and
determining a reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value of the second color component of the current block and the target symmetric relationship.
Zhao, however, teaches a decoding method, an encoding method and a bitstream generated by an encoding method:
determining a target symmetric relationship according to the target BV parameter of the current block (e.g. Figs. 12A and 12B, and pars. 88 – 91: depicting and describing that the system determines symmetry information according to BV information, wherein symmetry information is the equivalent of the target symmetric relationship, and wherein the BV information is the equivalent of the target BV parameter of the current block); and
determining a reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value of the second color component of the current block and the target symmetric relationship (e.g. Figs. 12A and 12B, and pars. 88 – 91: depicting and describing that the system flips the reference block indicated by the BV according to the determined symmetry information, wherein the reference block indicated by the BV is the equivalent of the predicted value of the second color component of the current block, and wherein flipping the indicated reference block is the equivalent of reconstructing the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value and the target symmetric relationship).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Li by adding the teachings of Zhao in order to determine a target symmetric relationship according to the target BV parameter and to determine a reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value of the second color component of the current block and the target symmetric relationship. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such a modification because the modification improves coding efficiency (Zhao, e.g. par. 87: describing that the use of block symmetry during IBC improves coding efficiency).
Turning to claim 2, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein the prediction mode for the first color component block meeting the first condition comprises: determining that the prediction mode for the first color component block is a first prediction mode with BV information (e.g. par. 199: describing that the luma component is coded in IBC, IntraIBC or IntraTMP mode, wherein IBC mode, IntraIBC mode, and IntraTMP mode are prediction modes with BV information, wherein the luma component is the equivalent of the first color component block).
Regarding claim 3, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the first color component block for the current block comprises:
determining a first co-located area corresponding to the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines a co-located luma area [element 1720] corresponding to the chroma block [element 1710], wherein the co-located luma area is the equivalent of the first co-located area and wherein the chroma block is the equivalent of the current block); and
determining, from a plurality of blocks divided from the first co-located area, the first color component block for the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines, from a plurality of blocks [elements 1721 – 1725] divided from the luma co-located area [element 1720], the luma component block for the current block, wherein the luma component block is the equivalent of the first color component block).
Turning to claim 4, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 3, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the first color component block for the current block comprises: selecting a target block from the plurality of blocks divided from the first co-located area, and taking the target block as the first color component block for the current block (e.g. e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system selects a block from the plurality of luma blocks in the co-located luma area as the target block of the luma component for the current block, wherein the luma block is the equivalent of the first color component block).
Regarding claim 5, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 3, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the first color component block for the current block comprises:
determining position information of the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines a position of the current block);
scaling, according to a preset sampling format, the position information of the current block, to obtain position information of a co-located area corresponding to the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines a co-located area corresponding to the chroma block based on a preset subsampling format [exemplified as 4:2:0 subsampling format], wherein determining a co-located area based on a preset subsampling format is the equivalent of scaling the position information based on the preset sampling format); and
determining target position information according to the position information of the co- located area, and taking a target block comprising the target position information as the first color component block for the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines a target position in the luma area and determining a luma block that is the block containing the determined position in the luma area).
Turning to claim 6, Li and Zhao teaches all of the limitations of claims 1, 3, and 5, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the target position information according to the position information of the co-located area comprises: calculating a center position according to the position information of the co-located area, and taking information of an obtained center position as the target position information; or calculating a top-left position according to the position information of the co-located area, and taking information of an obtained top-left position as the target position information; or calculating a lower-right position according to the position information of the co-located area, and taking information of an obtained lower-right position as the target position information (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines target position information by determining a center position of the chroma block and determining a corresponding center position in the luma co-located area or by determining a position in the co-located luma area corresponding to a top-left position in the chroma block).
Regarding claim 7, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 3, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the first color component block for the current block comprises:
determining, from the plurality of blocks divided from the first co-located area, at least one candidate block at a preset position (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system divides the co-located luma area into a plurality of blocks, each of the plurality of blocks being a candidate block); and
determining, from the at least one candidate block, a target candidate block meeting a preset determination condition, and taking the target candidate block as the first color component block for the current block (e.g. Fig. 17 and pars. 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines at least one block from the plurality of blocks in the co-located luma area according to position information of the chroma block as the luma block for the current block, wherein the luma block is the equivalent of the first color component and wherein a block selected according to position information of the chroma block is the equivalent of the preset determination condition).
Turning to claim 8, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the target BV parameter of the current block comprises:
determining a first BV parameter of the first color component block (e.g. Fig. 17, and pars. 154 – 157 and 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system determines BV information for the luma block corresponding to the chroma block, wherein the luma block is the equivalent of the first color component block); and
adjusting the first BV parameter of the first color component block, to determine the target BV parameter of the current block (e.g. Fig. 17, and pars. 154 – 157 and 201 – 205: depicting and describing that the system adjusts the BV information of the luma component to derive the BV information of the chroma component).
Regarding claim 9, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 8, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein adjusting the first BV parameter of the first color component block, to determine the target BV parameter of the current block comprises: scaling, according to a preset sampling format, the first BV parameter of the first color component block, to determine the target BV parameter of the current block (e.g. pars. 154 – 157 and 201 – 205: describing that the system determines BV information for the chroma component of the current block by scaling the BV information of the luma component based on a preset sampling format, wherein BV information of the chroma component of the current block is the equivalent of the target BV parameter of the current block, and wherein the luma component is the equivalent of the first color component).
Turning to claim 10, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li does not explicitly teach:
after determining the target BV parameter of the current block, determining whether the target BV parameter meets an availability condition; and
when the target BV parameter meets the availability condition, performing the operation of determining the target symmetric relationship of the current block according to the target BV parameter of the current block.
Zhao, however, teaches a decoding method:
after determining the target BV parameter of the current block, determining whether the target BV parameter meets an availability condition (e.g. Fig. 5 and pars. 73 – 75: depicting and describing that the system determines whether the BV points to an allowable area, wherein the BV is the equivalent of the target BV parameter); and
when the target BV parameter meets the availability condition, performing the operation of determining the target symmetric relationship of the current block according to the target BV parameter of the current block (e.g. pars. 88 – 89: describing that when the BV points to an allowable area, the system then determines whether a symmetric relationship exists for the current block, wherein the BV is the equivalent of the target BV parameter).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Li by adding the teachings of Zhao in order to determine whether the target BV parameter meets an availability condition and to perform the operation of determining the target symmetric relationship of the current block according to the target BV parameter of the current block when the target BV parameter meets the availability condition. One of ordinary skill in the would have been motivated to make such a modification because the modification improves coding efficiency (Zhao, e.g. par. 87: describing that the use of block symmetry during IBC improves coding efficiency).
Regarding claim 11, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 10, as discussed above. Li does not explicitly teach:
wherein whether the target BV parameter meets the availability condition is determined according to at least the following: an offset position indicated according to position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a picture boundary; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not cover the current block; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a preset available area; and the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter has been reconstructed.
Zhao, however, teaches a decoding method:
wherein whether the target BV parameter meets the availability condition is determined according to at least the following: an offset position indicated according to position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a picture boundary; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not cover the current block; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a preset available area; and the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter has been reconstructed (e.g. Fig. 5 and pars. 71 – 75: depicting and describing that a BV points to an allowable area when it is within the current picture [describes that IBC is applied only when the reference picture is the current picture], does not point to the current block, points to a block that has been reconstructed, and points to a preset allowable area [indicating allowable areas for BV vectors in both HEVC and VVC codecs]).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Li by adding the teachings of Zhao in order for whether the target BV parameter meets the availability condition is determined according to at least the following: an offset position indicated according to position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a picture boundary; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not cover the current block; the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter does not exceed a preset available area; and the offset position indicated according to the position information of the current block and the target BV parameter has been reconstructed. One of ordinary skill in the would have been motivated to make such a modification because the modification improves coding efficiency (Zhao, e.g. par. 87: describing that the use of block symmetry during IBC improves coding efficiency).
Regarding claim 12, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li does not explicitly teach:
wherein determining the target symmetric relationship according to the target BV parameter of the current block comprises: acquiring a target symmetric relationship of the first color component block from a preset buffer, to determine the target symmetric relationship, wherein the target symmetric relationship is used to indicate a symmetric relationship between a first co-located area where the first color component block is located and a second co-located area indicated by the target BV parameter.
Zhao, however, teaches a decoding method:
wherein determining the target symmetric relationship according to the target BV parameter of the current block comprises: acquiring a target symmetric relationship of the first color component block from a preset buffer, to determine the target symmetric relationship, wherein the target symmetric relationship is used to indicate a symmetric relationship between a first co-located area where the first color component block is located and a second co-located area indicated by the target BV parameter (e.g. Figs. 12A and 12B, and pars. 87 – 90: depicting and describing that the system obtains information from the bitstream indicating a symmetric relationship between the block and the reference block indicated by the BV information, wherein the symmetric relationship between the block and the reference block indicated by the BV information is the equivalent of the symmetric relationship between a first co-located area where the first color component block is located and a second co-located area indicated by the target BV parameter).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Li by adding the teachings of Zhao in order to acquire a target symmetric relationship of the first color component block from a preset buffer, to determine the target symmetric relationship, wherein the target symmetric relationship is used to indicate a symmetric relationship between a first co-located area where the first color component block is located and a second co-located area indicated by the target BV parameter. One of ordinary skill in the would have been motivated to make such a modification because the modification improves coding efficiency (Zhao, e.g. par. 87: describing that the use of block symmetry during IBC improves coding efficiency).
Turning to claim 13, Li teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein predicting, according to the target BV parameter, the second color component of the current block, to determine the predicted value of the second color component of the current block comprises:
determining an offset position of the current block according to the target BV parameter and position information of the current block (e.g. par. 199: describing that the system determines a location of a reference chroma block for the current chroma block based on the derived chroma BV for the chroma block and the position of the chroma block, wherein the location of the reference chroma block is the equivalent of the offset position, the current chroma block is the equivalent of the current block, and the derived chroma BV is the equivalent of the target BV parameter);
performing block copy according to the offset position of the current block, to obtain a first prediction block (e.g. par. 199: describing that the system copies the reference chroma block to predict the chroma block, wherein the chroma block is the equivalent of the current block, and the reference chroma block is the equivalent of the offset position); and
determining the predicted value of the second color component of the current block according to the first prediction block (e.g. par. 199: describing that the system reconstructs the chroma block of the current block according to the copied reference chroma block, wherein the chroma block of the current block is the equivalent of the second color component).
Regarding claim 14, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein determining the reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value of the second color component of the current block and the target symmetric relationship comprises:
decoding a bitstream to determine a residual value of the second color component of the current block (e.g. Fig. 5 and pars. 70 – 73: depicting and describing that the system obtains residual sample values decoded from a bitstream, the decoded residual sample values including chroma component of the current block, wherein the chroma component is the equivalent of the second color component); and
determining an initial reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block according to the predicted value of the second color component of the current block and the residual value of the second color component of the current block (e.g. pars. 199: describing that the system performs reconstruction of the chroma block of the current block according to a reference chroma block of the current block and residual information, wherein the reference chroma block is the equivalent of the predicted value of the second color component of the current block).
Li does not explicitly teach:
transforming, according to the target symmetric relationship, the initial reconstructed value, to determine the reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block.
Zhao, however, teaches a decoding method:
transforming, according to the target symmetric relationship, the initial reconstructed value, to determine the reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block (e.g. Fig. 12A – 12B and pars. 87 – 90: depicting and describing that the system transforms the initial reconstructed block [prediction as a result of initial residual and prediction processing] is flipped according to the determined symmetry relationship, wherein the determined symmetry relationship is the equivalent of the target symmetric relationship)
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Li by adding the teachings of Zhao in order to transform, according to the target symmetric relationship, the initial reconstructed value, to determine the reconstructed value of the second color component of the current block. One of ordinary skill in the would have been motivated to make such a modification because the modification improves coding efficiency (Zhao, e.g. par. 87: describing that the use of block symmetry during IBC improves coding efficiency).
Turning to claim 15, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claim 1, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
decoding a bitstream to determine a target prediction mode for the current block (e.g. pars. 142, 160, and 199: describing that the system obtains a syntax element from the bitstream, the syntax element determining whether Intra Block Copy (IBC) is applied to the current block); and
when the target prediction mode indicates that the second color component of the current block is allowed to use a Direct Block Vector (DBV) mode, performing the operation of determining the target BV parameter of the current block (e.g. pars. 142, 160, and 199: describing that when the syntax element indicates that IBC is applied to the current bock, the system determines a BV for the chroma block of the current block, wherein IBC is the equivalent of the DBV mode, and wherein determining a BV for the chroma block of the current block is the equivalent of determining the target BV parameter of the current block).
Regarding claim 16, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 15, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein decoding the bitstream to determine the target prediction mode for the current block comprising:
decoding the bitstream to determine a value of identification information of a first syntax element (e.g. par. 160: describing that the system determines the value of an IBC flag, wherein the IBC flag is the equivalent of the first syntax element);
if the value of identification information of the first syntax element is a first value, determining that the target prediction mode for the current block is the DBV mode (e.g. par. 160: describing that if the IBC flag has a first value, then IBC mode is enabled for the current block, wherein the IBC flag is the equivalent of the first syntax element, and wherein the IBC is the equivalent of the DBV mode).
Turning to claim 17, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 15, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
wherein decoding the bitstream to determine the target prediction mode for the current block comprising:
decoding the bitstream to determine a value of identification information of a first syntax element (e.g. par. 160: describing that the system determines the value of an IBC flag, wherein the IBC flag is the equivalent of the first syntax element);
if the value of identification information of the first syntax element is a second value, determining that the target prediction mode for the current block is another prediction mode4 other than the DBV mode (e.g. par. 160: describing that if the IBC flag has a second value, then IBC mode is not enabled for the current block, wherein the IBC flag is the equivalent of the first syntax element, and wherein the IBC is the equivalent of the DBV mode).
Regarding claim 18, Li and Zhao teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 15, as discussed above. Li further teaches:
determining a first co-located area corresponding to the current block (e.g. pars. 154 and 199: describing that the system determines a co-located area for the chroma block [describing that each chroma block has a corresponding luma block]); and
if the first co-located area has BV information, determining that the second color component of the current block is allowed to use the DBV mode (e.g. pars. 154 and 199: describing that the system determines a BV of the chroma block when the corresponding luma block is in IBC mode, wherein the IBC mode is the equivalent of the DBV mode, and wherein the chroma block is the equivalent of the second color component).
Conclusion
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/SHANIKA M BRUMFIELD/Examiner, Art Unit 2487
/CHIKAODILI E ANYIKIRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
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