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 . 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 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. There is a total of 20 claims and claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/03/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. § 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See M.P.E.P. § 2172.01. The omitted steps are: any steps for bitstream transmission in what is supposedly “a method of transmitting a bitstream”. The claim as a whole, directed substantially to a bitstream generated by an image encoding method, remains effectively an attempt to claim the per se bitstream itself. Such a claim would not fall under any of the four statutory categories of invention. In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 1356–1357, 84 U.S.P.Q.2d 1495, 1501–03 (Fed. Cir. 2007). It is suggested that Applicant amend claim 20 to recite a positive method step of “transmitting the bitstream to video processing apparatus”.
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.
Claims 1,4-11, 14 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schroers et al. (US 2020/0077065 A1) in view of Li et al.(US 2020/0304836 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Schroers discloses a method for video processing ([see in Fig. 1]-a method of video processing), comprising: performing a conversion between a video and a bitstream of the video, wherein a neural-network postprocessing filter (NNPF) is applied on at least one picture associated with the video([para 0018];[0045]- video source may be an encoder providing compressed video to video processing system 100 in the form of video data 130; computing platform 102 of video processing system 100 may function as a video decoder for decompressing and colorizing video received from video source 120 to produce colorized video sequen·ce 132 by applying the compression process or steps in reverse; blending first estimated colorization 262 for the frame with second estimated colorization 264/464 for the frame using color fusion stage 246 of CNN 140/240 to produce colorized video sequence 132/232 corresponding to the video sequence in gray scale included in video data 130/230).
However, Disney does not explicitly disclose the bitstream comprises a first indication indicating a purpose of the NNPF, and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture.
In an analogous art, Li discloses the bitstream comprises a first indication indicating a purpose of the NNPF, and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture )). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Li to the modified system of Disney a neural network post-processing filter (NNPF); and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture to improve the field of computing by allowing for the use of neural networks to perform video encoding and for SEI messages to provide the necessary parameters and information regarding the structure of the neural network [ Li; para 0015].
Regarding claim 4, Li discloses wherein if a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value and the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a bit depth of the sample value in the output is higher than the bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture; If the display side chooses not to process the NN based tools, the SEI message may be discarded. The SEI messages may include, for example, an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks)).
Regarding claim 5, Li discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, and a bit depth of the sample value in the output is higher than the bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture; If the display side chooses not to process the NN based tools, the SEI message may be discarded. The SEI messages may include, for example, an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks)).
Regarding claim 6, Disney discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, and a bit depth of a sample value in at least one color component of the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in at least one corresponding color component of the at least one picture para [0018],
[0045]- video source may be an encoder providing compressed video to video processing system 100 in the form of video data 130;computing platform 102 of video processing system 100 may function as a video decoder for decompressing and colorizing video received from video source 120 to produce colorized video sequence 132 by applying the compression process or steps in reverse; blending first estimated colorization 262 for the frame with second estimated colorization 264/464 for the frame using color fusion stage 246 of CNN 140/240 to produce colorized video sequence 132/232 corresponding to the video sequence in gray scale included in video data 130/230).
Regarding claim 7, Li discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, and a bit depth of a sample value in each color component of the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in each corresponding color component of the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture; If the display side chooses not to process the NN based tools, the SEI message may be discarded. The SEI messages may include, for example, an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks)).
Regarding claim 8, Li discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, the sample value in the at least one picture is in the format of integer value, and a bit depth of the sample value in the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture; If the display side chooses not to process the NN based tools, the SEI message may be discarded. The SEI messages may include, for example, an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks)).
Regarding claim 9, Disney discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, the sample value in the at least one picture is in the format of integer value, and a bit depth of a sample value in each color component of the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in each corresponding color component of the at least one picture[0018],
[0045]- video source may be an encoder providing compressed video to video processing system 100 in the form of video data 130;computing platform 102 of video processing system 100 may function as a video decoder for decompressing and colorizing video received from video source 120 to produce colorized video sequence 132 by applying the compression process or steps in reverse; blending first estimated colorization 262 for the frame with second estimated colorization 264/464 for the frame using color fusion stage 246 of CNN 140/240 to produce colorized video sequence 132/232 corresponding to the video sequence in gray scale included in video data 130/230).
Regarding claim 10, Disney discloses wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, the sample value in the at least one picture is in the format of integer value, and a bit depth of a sample value in at least one color component of the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in at least one corresponding color component of the at least one picture. ([0018], [0045]- video source may be an encoder providing compressed video to video processing system 100 in the form of video data 130;computing platform 102 of video processing system 100 may function as a video decoder for decompressing and colorizing video received from video source 120 to produce colorized video sequence 132 by applying the compression process or steps in reverse; blending first estimated colorization 262 for the frame with second estimated colorization 264/464 for the frame using color fusion stage 246 of CNN 140/240 to produce colorized video sequence 132/232 corresponding to the video sequence in gray scale included in video data 130/230).
Regarding claim 11, Li discloses wherein if each of the sample value in the at least one picture and a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value and the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a bit depth of the sample value in the output is higher than a bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture([0027];[0031];[0043-0044]- a neural network post-processing filter NNPF and one of candidates for the purpose is increasing a bit depth of a sample value in the at least one picture; If the display side chooses not to process the NN based tools, the SEI message may be discarded. The SEI messages may include, for example, an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks)).
Regarding claim 14, Lis discloses wherein the bitstream further comprises a second indication indicating a difference between a bit depth of a sample value in an output of the NNPF and the bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture([para 0043]- an identifier indicating a type of the neural network (NN) based tools (e.g., a neural network based post-processing filter), an identifier or index indicating which kind of packing type or neural network model set should be used, information as to whether the transmitted parameters are compressed, the bit-depth precision values and descriptions of the parameters, a flag indicating whether luma data and chroma data use different neural networks).
Regarding claim 18, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1. Hence; all limitations for claim 18 have been met in claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1. Hence; all limitations for claim 19 have been met in claim 1.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1. Hence; all limitations for claim 20 have been met in claim 1.
Claims 2, 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schroers in view of Li as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Ohm (NPL- Meeting Report of the 28th Meeting of the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET)).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Schroers and Li do not exclusively disclose wherein the first indication comprises a syntax element nnpfc_purpose.
In an analogous art, Ohm discloses wherein the first indication comprises a syntax element nnpfc_purpose([pg. 187]- nnpfc_purpose). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Ohm to the modified system of Disney and Li a method of video coding with the neural-network post-processing filter purpose signaling to improve the coding efficiency.
Regarding claim 3, Ohm discloses wherein the at least one picture comprises at least one decoded picture or at least one cropped decoded picture of the video([see pg. 188]- CroppedWidth).
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schroers in view of Li as applied to 14 above and further in view of Deshpande et al. (US 2024/0205462 A1).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Schroers and Li do not exclusively disclose wherein the second indication comprises a syntax element nnpfc_delta_bitdepth_minus1, and a value of the syntax element nnpfc_delta_bitdepth_minus1 plus one is equal to the difference between the bit depth of the sample value in the output and the bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture.
In an analogous art, Deshpande discloses Regarding claim 15, the combination of Schroers and Li do not exclusively disclose wherein the second indication comprises a syntax element nnpfc_delta_bitdepth_minus1, and a value of the syntax element nnpfc_delta_bitdepth_minus1 plus one is equal to the difference between the bit depth of the sample value in the output and the bit depth of the sample value in the at least one picture([para 0166, 0171-0174, see also table 14-15]- nnpfc_interpolated_pics[i] specifies the number of interpolated pictures generated by the post-processing filter between the i-th and the (i+1)-th picture used as input for the post-processing filter. The variables numInputPics, specifying the number of pictures used as input for the post-processing filter, and numOutputPics, specifying the total number of pictures resulting from the post-processing filter, are derived as follows:
TABLE-US-00027 if( nnpfc_purpose = = 5 ) { numInputPics = nnpfc_num_input_pics_minus2 + 2 for( i = 0, numOutputPics = 0; i <= numInputPics − 2; i++ ) numOutputPics += nnpfc_interpolated_pics[ i ] } else { numInputPics = 1 numOutputPics = 1 }). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Ohm to the modified system of Disney and Ohm techniques for signaling neural network post-filter parameter information for coded video that enable data requirements for storing and transmitting video data to be reduced. Video compression techniques may reduce data requirements by exploiting the inherent redundancies in a video sequence [Deshpande; para 0003].
Regarding claim 16, Deshpande discloses wherein the conversion includes encoding the video into the bitstream([see in Fig. 2]-converting video into bitsream).
Regarding claim 17, Deshpande discloses wherein the conversion includes decoding the video from the bitstream ([see in Fig. 2]-converting video into bitsream).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12-13 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 12, The method of claim 1, wherein if the first indication indicates that the purpose of the NNPF comprises increasing the bit depth, a sample value in an output of the NNPF is in a format of integer value, the sample value in the at least one picture is in the format of integer value, a bit depth of a sample value in each color component of the output is higher than or equal to a bit depth of a sample value in each corresponding color component of the at least one picture, and a bit depth of a sample value in at least one color component of the output is higher than a bit depth of a sample value in at least one corresponding color component of the at least one picture.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art are made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
1. Li et al., US 2022/0329837 A1, discloses aspects/embodiments describe one or more bitstreams in which a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message thereof includes indicators specifying one or more neural network (NN) filter model candidates.
2. Deshpande et. al., US 2024/0129535 A1, discloses various techniques for coding video data. In particular, this disclosure describes techniques for signaling neural network post-filter parameter information for coded video data.
3. MA et al., US 2022/0021905 A1, discloses an implementation of the present disclosure provides a filtering method including: acquiring sample information to be filtered; acquiring at least one type of side information; and inputting at least two components of the sample information to be filtered and the at least one type of side information into a neural network-based filter to output and obtain at least one component after the sample information to be filtered is filtered.
4. DESHPANDE, US 2024/0121443 A1A1, discloses techniques for signaling neural network post-filter parameter information for coded video.
5. HANNUKSELA et al., US 2023/0112309; disclose an identifying number for identifying a post-processing filter; a mode identity (idc) field used of indicating association of a post-processing filter with the identifying number; a flag for specifying the enhancement message being used for a current layer; and the payload byte comprising a bitstream; and using the enhancement message for at least one of specifying a neural network that is used as a post-processing filter or cancelling a use of a previous post-processing filter with the same identifying number.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MD NAZMUL HAQUE whose telephone number is (571)272-5328. The examiner can normally be reached IFW.
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/MD N HAQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
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