Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 16, 2026
Application No. 19/264,401

IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS

Final Rejection §DP
Filed
Jul 09, 2025
Examiner
WILLIAMS, JEFFERY A
Art Unit
2488
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
B1 Institute Of Image Technology, INC.
OA Round
2 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allow Rate
768 granted / 920 resolved
+25.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +5% lift
Without
With
+4.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
47 currently pending
Career history
967
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
8.0%
-32.0% vs TC avg
§103
43.6%
+3.6% vs TC avg
§102
21.9%
-18.1% vs TC avg
§112
19.4%
-20.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 920 resolved cases

Office Action

§DP
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, filed 1/9/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 and 5 under double patenting have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, new double patenting rejections are made in view of co-pending applications 19/264,330; 19/264,411; and 19/264,445. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 35 USC 112 rejection of claim 5 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 112 rejection of claim 5 has been withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 35 USC 103 rejection of claims 1, 3, and 5 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 112 rejection of claims 1, 3, and 5 has been withdrawn. Double Patenting Claims 1, 3, and 5 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 12,542,883 in view of He et al. (He) (US 2019/0215532). Any differences between the instant application’s claims and US Patent No. 12,542,883 claims are not patentably distinct as shown below: (The following limitations are claimed in instant application 19/264,401) performing prediction for the current block included in the image to generate a prediction block ([0108], a prediction block is generated); generating a residual block for the current block ([0108], a residual block is generated); reconstructing the current block based on the prediction block and the residual block ([0108], the residual block is added to a prediction block for reconstructing a current block); obtaining the reconstructed image based on the reconstructed current block ([0108] reconstructed reference images are generated). Claims 1, 3, and 5 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 12,549,699 in view of He et al. (He) (US 2019/0215532). Any differences between the instant application’s claims and US Patent No. 12,549,699 claims are not patentably distinct as shown below: (The following limitations are claimed in US Patent No. 12,549,699) Determining a prediction method for the current block included in the image ([0108], a determination for performing intra and/or inter prediction is performed). Claims 1, 3 and 5 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, and 5 of US Patent No. 12,542,884 (reference application). Any differences between the instant application’s claims and US Patent No. 12,542,884 claims are not patentably distinct as shown by the prior art rejections below. (The following limitations are claimed in US Patent No. 12,549,699) Identifying at least one reference sample adjacent to the current block included in the image ([0107], [0110], neighboring samples are selected for performing intra prediction). Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFERY A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7579. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00. 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. 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. /JEFFERY A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2488
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 09, 2025
Application Filed
Nov 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §DP
Jan 09, 2026
Response Filed
Feb 10, 2026
Final Rejection — §DP
Mar 30, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12596182
OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12581040
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COORDINATED COLLECTION OF STREET-LEVEL IMAGE DATA
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12581049
IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12556824
IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12556825
IMAGE DATA ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+4.7%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 920 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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