Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 19/259,875

ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, BITSTREAM, ENCODER, DECODER AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 03, 2025
Priority
Jan 06, 2023 — continuation of PCTCN2023070931
Examiner
GINGRICH, SHADAN HAGHANI
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
61%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 8m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 61% of resolved cases
61%
Career Allowance Rate
235 granted / 383 resolved
+1.4% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
421
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
65.6%
+25.6% vs TC avg
§102
11.8%
-28.2% vs TC avg
§112
14.6%
-25.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 383 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4-8, 14-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-3, 9-13, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022). Regarding Claim 1, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022) discloses a decoding method (planar coding mode, Section 4.4), applied to a decoder (codec, Abstract), wherein the method comprises: determining, based on a prediction node (reference node, page 40) that is in a prediction frame (motion compensated cloud, page 40) and corresponds to a current node (reference node is the collocated node, page 40), planar structure information (all of the planar flags in sections 4.4.2-4.4.3) of a preset node (neighborhood at same depth and at child depth relative to current node, page 33) of the current node (current node, page 33), wherein the preset node comprises the prediction node (set of current node and reference node, page 40); determining, based on the planar structure information of the preset node (plane position in the inter reference block is utilized, page 40 5.2.2), context indication information (context selection for Planar Flag and Plane Position Coding, page 40) of the current node (occupancy word associated with the current node, page 33); determining, based on the context indication information (context selection for Planar Flag and Plane Position Coding, page 40), target context information (ctxIdx, page 40); and decoding a bitstream (decoded from the bitstream, page 32) based on the target context information (ctxIdx, page 40), to determine planar position information (all of the planar flags in sections 4.4.2-4.4.3) of the current node (occupied child nodes, page 31, of current node, page 31). Regarding Claim 2, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022) discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the prediction frame is a decoded frame (inter prediction, page 39), and the prediction frame is adjacent to a current frame (adjacentPlane, page 40) that comprises the current node (current node, page 33). Regarding Claim 3, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022) discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: determining occupancy information (occupancy of the reference node is derived first, page 40) of the prediction node (of the reference node, page 40); determining, based on the occupancy information of the prediction node (occupancy of the reference node is derived first, page 40), planar mode information of the prediction node (generate the planar mode (planar_ref) and plane position (plane_ref) of the reference node, page 40); and determining, based on the planar mode information of the prediction node (generate the planar mode (planar_ref) and plane position (plane_ref) of the reference node, page 40), whether a plane coding mode is enabled for the current node (planar flag and plane position are copied from the reference, page 41) in a preset direction (in all axis directions, page 41). Regarding Claim 9, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022) discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: determining occupancy information (occupancy of the reference node is derived first, page 40) of the prediction node (of the reference node, page 40); determining, based on the occupancy information of the prediction node (occupancy of the reference node is derived first, page 40), planar structure information of the prediction node (generate the planar mode (planar_ref) and plane position (plane_ref) of the reference node, page 40); and determining, based on the planar mode information of the prediction node (generate the planar mode (planar_ref) and plane position (plane_ref) of the reference node, page 40), whether a plane coding mode is enabled for the current node (planar flag and plane position are copied from the reference, page 41) in a preset direction (axis directions, page 41). Regarding Claim 10, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022) discloses the method according to claim 9, wherein the determining, based on the planar structure information of the prediction node, whether the plane coding mode is enabled for the current node in the preset direction comprises: acquiring reference information of the current node (the previous frame, page 38); and determining, based on the planar structure information of the prediction node and the reference information of the current node (planarMode_ref[axisIdx], plane_ref[axisIdx], page 40), whether the plane coding mode is enabled for the current node (the planar flag and plane position are copied from the reference node, page 41) in the preset direction (axis directions, page 41). Regarding Claim 11, G-PCC 2nd Edition (“G-PCC 2nd Edition CODED DESCRIPTION,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG7 N00134, APRIL 2022)discloses writing an encoded bit into a bitstream (the bitstream, page 32). The remainder of Claim 11 is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 1. Regarding Claim 12, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim2. Regarding Claim 13, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim3. Regarding Claim 19, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claims 9-10. the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 11. Regarding Claim 20, Oh (US PG Publication 2020/0302632) discloses a non-transitory storage medium, comprising a bitstream (transmit a point cloud bitstream or a file/segment including the bitstream to the receiver of the reception device over a digital storage medium or a network [0311]). The remainder of Claim 20 does not have patentable weight as there is no functional relationship between the computer readable medium and the bitstream. See MPEP 2111.05. Instead, language such as “A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream, wherein the bitstream, processed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations…” might produce a functional relationship between the memory and the data. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: “Description of Exploration Experiment 13.2 on inter prediction,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 7 N00155, July 2021 “Inter-prediction Exploration Model (Inter-EM) v3.0,” ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 7 N00189, July 2021 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHADAN E HAGHANI whose telephone number is (571)270-5631. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM. 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, Jay Patel can be reached at 571-272-2988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SHADAN E HAGHANI/Examiner, Art Unit 2485
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 03, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
61%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+17.6%)
2y 11m (~1y 8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 383 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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