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 are a total of 4 claims and claims 1-4 are pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites “A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a bitstream that is generated by a method of encoding an image, the method comprising:”. Claim 4 is directed to a non-transitory medium storing a bitstream of a image wherein clauses that appear to describe how the bitstream is generated. These elements or steps are not performed by an intended computer, and the bitstream is not a form of programming that causes functions to be performed by an intended computer. This shows that the computer-readable medium merely serves as support for storing the bitstream and provides no functional relationship between the steps/elements that describe the generation of the bitstream and intended computer system. Therefore, those claim elements are not given patentable weight. Patentable weight is given to data stored on a computer-readable medium when there exists a functional relationship between the data and its associated substrate. See MPEP 2111.05 III. For example, if a claim is drawn to a computer-readable medium containing programming, a functional relationship exists if the programming “performs some function with respect to the computer with which it is associated.” However, if the claim recites that the computer-readable medium merely serves as a storage for information or data that is not meant for being executed, no functional relationship exists and the information or data is not given patentable weight.
The Examiner suggests that the claim be amended so that it is directed to a functional relationship. For example, in this particular case, the claim should instead be recited as “A method of storing a bitstream of an image into a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, wherein the bitstream is generated by a method of encoding an image, the method comprising:”
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 § 2146 et seq. 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.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are substantially similar in scope and they use the same limitations, using varying terminology, and the claims are obvious variants of each other because:
Claims 1, 4, 6 and 21 of US. Pat. No. 11,985,348 B2
Claims 1-4 of current application 19/310,774
1. (Currently Amended) A method of decoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining prediction mode information of a current block from a bitstream, the prediction mode information indicating whether an intra block copy mode is applied to a-the
current block or not; determining, based on the prediction mode information, whether a prediction mode of the current block is the intra block copy mode or not; and determining whether to decode a coded block flag of the current block based on the prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether residual signal of a
transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not,
wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the
prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, decoding the coded block
flag from the bitstream is omitted, and
wherein in response to decoding the coded block flag being omitted, a value of the coded block flag is inferred to indicate that the residual signal of the transform block for the current block is present.
1. A method of decoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining prediction mode information of a current block from a bitstream, the prediction mode information indicating whether an intra block copy mode is applied to the current block or not; determining, based on the prediction mode information, whether a prediction mode of the current block is the intra block copy mode; determining whether to decode a coded block flag of the current block based on the
prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether residual signal of a transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not, wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, decoding the coded block flag from the bitstream is omitted, and wherein in response to decoding the coded block flag being omitted, a value of the coded block flag is inferred to indicate that the residual signal of the transform block for the current block is present; and obtaining residual samples based on the residual signal for the transform block of
the current block.
21. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1, wherein in response to the current block being chroma block under the dual tree structure, the prediction mode information is not decoded from the bitstream, and a value of the prediction mode information is implicitly determined at a decoder side.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to the current block being chroma block under the dual tree structure, the prediction mode information is not decoded from the
bitstream, and a value of the prediction mode information is implicitly determined at a decoder side.
4. (Currently Amended) A method of encoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining prediction samples of a current block according to a prediction mode of the current block;
encoding prediction mode information of the current block into a bitstream, the
prediction mode information indicating whether the prediction mode of the current block is an intra block copy mode or not; and determining whether to encode a coded block flag of the current block based on the prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether the residual signal
of a transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not,
wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, encoding the coded block flag into the bitstream is omitted, and wherein the residual signal of the current block is encoded into the bitstream even
though encoding the coded block flag being omitted.
3. A method of encoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining prediction samples of a current block according to a prediction mode of the current block;
encoding prediction mode information of the current block into a bitstream, the
prediction mode information indicating whether the prediction mode of the current block is an intra block copy mode or not; obtaining residual samples of the current block based on the prediction sample; obtaining residual signal based on the residual samples of the current block; and determining whether to encode a coded block flag of the current block based on the prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether the residual signal of a transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not,
wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the
prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, encoding the coded block flag into the bitstream is omitted, and wherein the residual signal of the current block is encoded into the bitstream even though encoding the coded block flag being omitted.
6. (Currently Amended) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a bitstream that is generated by a method of encoding an image, the method comprising: obtaining prediction samples of a current block according to a prediction mode of the current block;
encoding prediction mode information of the current block into a bitstream, the
prediction mode information indicating whether the prediction mode of the current block is an intra block copy mode or not; and determining whether to encode a coded block flag of the current block based on the prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether the residual signal
of a transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not,
wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the
prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, encoding the coded block flag into the bitstream is omitted, and wherein the residual signal of the current block is encoded into the bitstream even
though encoding the coded block flag being omitted.
4. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a bitstream that is generated by a method of encoding an image, the method comprising:
obtaining prediction samples of a current block according to a prediction mode of
the current block; encoding prediction mode information of the current block into a bitstream, the prediction mode information indicating whether the prediction mode of the current block is
an intra block copy mode or not;
obtaining residual samples of the current block based on the prediction sample;
obtaining residual signal based on the residual samples of the current block; and
determining whether to encode a coded block flag of the current block based on the prediction mode of the current block, the coded block flag indicating whether the residual signal of a transform block for the current block is present in the bitstream or not, wherein in response to the current block being a dual tree luma block and the prediction mode of the current block being the intra block copy mode, encoding the coded block flag into the bitstream is omitted, and wherein the residual signal of the current block is encoded into the bitstream even
though encoding the coded block flag being omitted.
Referring to claims 1, taking claim 1 as exemplary, although conflicting application 11,985,348, does not explicitly disclose what’s claimed in instant application 19/310,774, obtaining residual samples based on the residual signal for the transform block of the current block.
However, LEE teaches obtaining residual samples based on the residual signal for the transform block of the current block ([claim 19]- obtaining residual samples by selectively performing the inverse-transform for the inverse-quantized residual coefficients of the current block based on the transform skip flag).
Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of applicant's invention would have clearly recognized that it is quite advantageous for the instant application 19/310,774 to combine the teachings of LEE. It is for this reason one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide a method and an apparatus for efficiently transforming video information (LEE, [para 0008]).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art are made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
1. YE et al., US 2020/0045322 A1, discloses Intra prediction mode derivation for the Intra derived-mode (DM) coded chroma component of color images or color video to improve the coding efficiency.
2. Zhang et. al., US 2019/0246143 A1, discloses determine a block vector for a chroma block where the partition trees for the chroma component and the luma component are different (e.g., decoupled partition trees).
3. He et al., US. Pat. No. 9,877,043 B2, discloses method for generating a bit stream encoding a video that includes an input video block.
4. Lee et al., US 2009/0232217 A1, discloses a method and apparatus for encoding an image, which can variably encode a residual of a current block that is predicted with a skip mode according to prediction modes of neighboring blocks, and a method and apparatus for decoding the encoded image.
5. Wang et al., US 2020/0275118 A1, discloses prediction techniques using motion vectors in video codecs.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Czekaj can be reached on 5712727327. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MD N HAQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
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