DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is a response to an application filed on 08/07/2025, in which claims 1-4 are pending and ready for examination.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted was filed before the mailing date of the Office Action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-4 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of US 12,395,634 B2 in view of Wang (WO 2021/138594 A1).
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the reason and table provide below.
Instant - 19293905
US 12,395,634 B2
Claim 1 - An image decoding method performed by a decoding apparatus, the method comprising: obtaining one Block-based Delta Pulse Code Modulation (BDPCM) enabled flag indicating whether BDPCM is enabled for both a luma block and a chroma block in a current sequence or not, the luma block and the chroma block being included in the current sequence;
Claim 1 - An image decoding method performed by a decoding apparatus, the method comprising: obtaining a Block-based Delta Pulse Code Modulation (BDPCM) enabled flag indicating whether a BDPCM luma flag for a luma block and a BDPCM chroma flag for a chroma block are present in a current coding unit, where the BDPCM luma flag indicates whether the BDPCM is applied to the luma block, and the BDPCM chroma flag indicates whether the BDPCM is applied to the chroma block;
obtaining a BDPCM luma flag for whether the BDPCM is applied to a current luma block based on the one BDPCM enabled flag;
obtaining the BDPCM luma flag based on the BDPCM enabled flag;
obtaining a BDPCM luma direction flag for a prediction direction of the current luma block based on the BDPCM luma flag;
obtaining a BDPCM luma direction flag for a prediction direction of a current luma block based on the BDPCM luma flag;
deriving prediction samples of the current luma block based on an intra prediction mode derived based on the BDPCM luma direction flag;
deriving prediction samples of the current luma block based on an intra prediction mode derived based on the BDPCM luma direction flag;
obtaining a BDPCM chroma flag for whether the BDPCM is applied to current chroma blocks based on the one BDPCM enabled flag;
obtaining the BDPCM chroma flag based on the BDPCM enabled flag;
obtaining a BDPCM chroma direction flag for a prediction direction of the current chroma blocks based on the BDPCM chroma flag;
obtaining a BDPCM chroma direction flag for a prediction direction of current chroma blocks based on the BDPCM chroma flag; and
deriving prediction samples of the current chroma blocks based on an intra prediction mode derived based on the BDPCM chroma direction flag; and
deriving prediction samples of the current chroma blocks based on an intra prediction mode derived based on the BDPCM chroma direction flag,
generating a reconstructed picture based on the prediction samples of the current luma block and the prediction samples of the current chroma blocks,
wherein whether the BDPCM is enabled for the luma block in the current sequence is determined identically to whether the BDPCM is enabled for the chroma block in the current sequence according to a value of the one BDPCM enabled flag,
wherein the BDPCM enabled flag is obtained in units of sequences, wherein the BDPCM luma flag, the BDPCM luma direction flag, the BDPCM chroma flag and the BDPCM chroma direction flag are obtained in units of coding units, wherein whether the BDPCM luma flag for the luma block is present in the current coding unit is determined based on a size of the luma block and only a value of the BDPCM enabled flag,
wherein whether the BDPCM chroma flag for the chroma block is present in the current coding unit is determined based on a size of the chroma block and only the value of the BDPCM enabled flag,
wherein the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 0 indicates that the BDPCM is not enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence, and the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 1 indicates that the BDPCM is enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence,
wherein, in response to the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 0, the BDPCM luma flag and the BDPCM chroma flag are not obtained from a bitstream, and
wherein, in response to the value of the BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 0, the BDPCM luma flag and the BDPCM chroma flag are not obtained from a bitstream, and
wherein, in response to the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 1, the BDPCM luma flag and the BDPCM chroma flag for an image having at least one of YUV 420 chroma format or YUV 422 chroma format are obtained from the bitstream.
wherein, in response to the value of the BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 1, the BDPCM luma flag and the BDPCM chroma flag are obtained from the bitstream.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other, because claim 1 of the instant application differs from claim 1-3 of US 11,647,181 B2 in that the instant application recites (1) “generating a reconstructed picture based on the prediction samples of the current luma block and the prediction samples of the current chroma blocks”, (2) “wherein the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 0 indicates that the BDPCM is not enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence, and the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 1 indicates that the BDPCM is enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence”, (3) “an image having at least one of YUV 420 chroma format or YUV 422 chroma format”.
However, Wang teaches generating a reconstructed picture based on the prediction samples of the current luma block and the prediction samples of the current chroma blocks (Wang; Para. [0075]. A decoded/reconstructed picture is generated based on predictive samples of a current luma block and predictive samples of a current chroma block.), wherein the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 0 indicates that the BDPCM is not enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence, and the value of the one BDPCM enabled flag being equal to 1 indicates that the BDPCM is enabled for both the luma block and the chroma block in the current sequence (Wang; Para. [0116, 123]. For a BDPCM enabled flag being 0, BDPCM is not enabled for both luma block and chroma block in a current block unit of a current sequence, and for a BDPCM enabled flag being 1, BDPCM is enabled for both luma block and chroma block in a current block unit of a current sequence.), an image having at least one of YUV 420 chroma format or YUV 422 chroma format (Wang; Para. [0159]. A image include at least one of 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 chroma format.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the pertinent art at the time of the invention to recognize that such processing steps are commonly known and routinely performed as a part of video coding process.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the pertinent before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the video coding system of claim 1 of the instant application to adapt a BDPCM scheme for luma and chroma components, by incorporating Wang’s teaching wherein a BDPCM flag is used for both the luma component and the chroma component of an image having a 4:2:0 chroma format, for the motivation to enable BDPCM for video coding (Wang; Abstract.).
Claim 2 is directed to an image encoding method performed by an encoding apparatus, the method comprising a sequence of processing steps that are in reverse/symmetric manner with the steps corresponding to the same as claimed in claim 1, and is non-patentable for the same reason as previously indicated.
Claim 3 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a bitstream generated by a method, the method comprising a sequence of processing steps that are in reverse/symmetric manner with the steps corresponding to the same as claimed in claim 1, and is non-patentable for the same reason as previously indicated.
Claim 4 is directed to a transmission method of data for an image, the method comprising a sequence of processing steps that are in reverse/symmetric manner with the steps corresponding to the same as claimed in claim 1, and is non-patentable for the same reason as previously indicated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 would be allowable provided that all outstanding issues, objections, and/or requirements have been properly addressed.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yoo (US Pub. 20220256160 A1) teaches a video coding system that performs
BDPCM based on block size.
Chiang (US Pub. 20220232205 A1) teaches a video coding system that perform BDPCM, wherein luma MPM list derivation is used.
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/ALBERT KIR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485
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