CTNF 19/229,490 CTNF 87857 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status This is in response to application no. 19/229,490 filed on 06/05/2025. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (US 20200389661 A1) in view of Terada et al. (US 20180184123 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Zhao teaches the claim limitation as follows: A method comprising: determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network applied to a context comprising pixels surrounding the image block (Fig. 14, ¶0269-0273: an above MIP mode, namely mode MIP above , and a left MIP mode, namely mode MIP left , are firstly derived) ; obtaining an information relative to a transform method to apply for decoding the image block (¶0288-0293, 0369-0373: acquiring transform block signaling information from a coded video bitstream to determine whether an implicit transform scheme is applied for primary transform type selection….Moreover, for an W×H block, if a LFNST index (lfnst_idx) is signaled as 0 (i.e., fault), and if a TSM is not enabled, the primary transform is selected using the following algorithm:…) , obtaining a block of residue of the image block (¶0369-0372: a video decoding process) by applying at least one inverse transform to the block of transform coefficients according to the information relative to the transform method (¶0100, 0369-0372: in response to the determination that the transform block signaling information indicates the implicit transform scheme…where a primary transform is performed for a transform block that is partitioned from the CU in accordance with the determined primary transform type). Note that an inverse transform is applied at the decoder. See ¶0100, 0247 ; and decoding the image block based on the intra prediction and the block of residue (FIG. 6, ¶0096-0101: the reconstruction module (674) is configured to combine, in the spatial domain, the residual as output by the residue decoder (673) and the prediction results (as output by the inter or intra prediction modules as the case may be) to form a reconstructed block…). Zhao does not teach determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode. However, Terada teaches determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network (¶0285: under control of NN processing switcher 210, intra compensator 205 causes NN intra compensator 205 a to perform the NN intra prediction) ; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode (¶0294: inverse transformer 203A determines, from the information included in the bitstream, whether or not the prediction block is a block generated by the NN intra prediction or the NN inter prediction (S371). When the prediction block is a block generated by one of these predictions, inverse KL transformer 203Aa performs inverse frequency transformation by the inverse Karuhunen-Loeve (KL) transform (S372)). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao’s image encoding/decoding method by incorporating the teaching of Terada as noted above, in order to efficiently encode/decode the image data (¶0005). Regarding claim 2, Zhao teaches the claim limitation as follows: An apparatus comprising: a memory; and one or more processors connected to the memory, the one or more processors ( FIG. 16, ¶0374, 0384-0388: the computer system having architecture (1600), and specifically the core (1640) can provide functionality as a result of processor(s) (including CPUs, GPUs, FPGA, accelerators, and the like) executing software embodied in one or more tangible, computer-readable media) configured for: determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network applied to a context comprising pixels surrounding the image block (Fig. 14, ¶0269-0273: an above MIP mode, namely mode MIP above , and a left MIP mode, namely mode MIP left , are firstly derived) ; obtaining an information relative to a transform method to apply for decoding the image block (¶0288-0293, 0369-0373: acquiring transform block signaling information from a coded video bitstream to determine whether an implicit transform scheme is applied for primary transform type selection….Moreover, for an W×H block, if a LFNST index (lfnst_idx) is signaled as 0 (i.e., fault), and if a TSM is not enabled, the primary transform is selected using the following algorithm:…) ; obtaining a block of residue of the image block (¶0369-0372: a video decoding process) by applying at least one inverse transform to the block of transform coefficients according to the information relative to the transform method (¶0369-0372: in response to the determination that the transform block signaling information indicates the implicit transform scheme…where a primary transform is performed for a transform block that is partitioned from the CU in accordance with the determined primary transform type) ). Note that an inverse transform is applied at the decoder. See ¶0100, 0247 ; and decoding the image block based on the intra prediction and the block of residue (FIG. 6, ¶0096-0101: the reconstruction module (674) is configured to combine, in the spatial domain, the residual as output by the residue decoder (673) and the prediction results (as output by the inter or intra prediction modules as the case may be) to form a reconstructed block…). Zhao does not teach determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode. However, Terada teaches determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network (¶0285: under control of NN processing switcher 210, intra compensator 205 causes NN intra compensator 205 a to perform the NN intra prediction) ; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode (¶0294: inverse transformer 203A determines, from the information included in the bitstream, whether or not the prediction block is a block generated by the NN intra prediction or the NN inter prediction (S371). When the prediction block is a block generated by one of these predictions, inverse KL transformer 203Aa performs inverse frequency transformation by the inverse Karuhunen-Loeve (KL) transform (S372)). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao’s image encoding/decoding method by incorporating the teaching of Terada as noted above, in order to efficiently encode/decode the image data (¶0005). Regarding claim 3, Zhao teaches the claim limitation as follows: A method comprising: determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network from a context comprising pixels surrounding the image block (Fig. 14, ¶0269-0273: an above MIP mode, namely mode MIP above , and a left MIP mode, namely mode MIP left , are firstly derived) ; obtaining an information relative to a transform method to apply for encoding the image block (¶0243, 0281-0283: DST-7 and/or DCT-8 can be used without being explicitly signaled, i.e., DST-7 and/or DCT-8 can be used implicitly based on information that is available for both encoder and decoder) , obtaining a block of residue from the image block and the intra prediction (FIG. 5, ¶0093: the residue calculator (523) is configured to calculate a difference (residue data) between the received block and prediction results selected from the intra encoder (522) or the inter encoder (530)) ; obtaining a block of transform coefficients by applying at least one transform to the block of residue according to the information relative to the transform method (¶0093: the residue encoder (524) is configured to operate based on the residue data to encode the residue data to generate the transform coefficients. ¶0243, 0281-0283: DST-7 and/or DCT-8 can be used implicitly based on information that is available for both encoder and decoder) ; and encoding the block of transform coefficients (¶0093: the residue encoder (524) is configured to convert the residue data from a spatial domain to a frequency domain, and generate the transform coefficients). Zhao does not teach determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode. However, Terada teaches determining an intra prediction of an image block using at least one neural network (¶0249: under control of NN processing switcher 115, intra predictor 110 causes NN intra predictor 110 a to perform the NN intra prediction ) ; the transform method being adapted to a neural network-based intra prediction mode (¶0260: transformer 103A determines whether or not the prediction block selected in the determination of a prediction block (S123 in FIG. 3) is a block generated by the NN intra prediction or the NN inter prediction (S301). When the prediction block is a block generated by one of these predictions, KL transformer 103Aa performs frequency transformation by the Karuhunen-Loeve (KL) transform (S302). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao’s image encoding/decoding method by incorporating the teaching of Terada as noted above, in order to efficiently encode/decode the image data (¶0005). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHNAEL AYNALEM whose telephone number is (571)270-1482. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5:30 PM ET. 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 PERUNGAVOOR can be reached at 571-272-7455. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /NATHNAEL AYNALEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 2 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 3 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 4 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 5 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 6 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 7 Art Unit: 2488 Application/Control Number: 19/229,490 Page 8 Art Unit: 2488
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