DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
2. This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 09/17/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/30/2026, 05/19/2026, and 06/22/2026 are acknowledged. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosed in the IDS submissions has been considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
5. The Obviousness 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 non-statutory 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 Langi, 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 CPR l.32l(c) or l.32l(d) may
be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non-statutory 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 CPR l.32l(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B. l. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CPR 1.11 l(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CPR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CPR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual 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, to refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatented over claims 1-20 of U.S, Patent Application No 17/983,017, now U.S, Patent No 12/452,406.
Although the claims of the instant application are not identical, to those of the referenced patent, they are not patentably distinct therefrom. The difference between the claim sets are merely in terminology, as illustrated in the claim comparison table below, and do not result in any patentable distinction.
Accordingly, the instant claims are considered to be an obvious variation of the claims of the cited patent.
To overcome this rejection, a terminal disclaimer must be filed. The terminal disclaimer must disclaim any term of the instant application that would extends beyond the term of the referenced patent and must include the required common ownership and enforceable provisions under C.F.R. § 1.321.
The following table provides an exemplary comparison between representative claims and shows that the difference are merely in wording and do not constitute a patentable distinction.
19/331,672
(Instant Application)
17/983,017
(US Patent 12,452,406 B2)
EXEMPLARY CLAIM 1
CLAIM 1
1. A method for video decoding, the method comprising:
receiving a video bitstream comprising a current block in a current picture;
identifying a partitioning boundary that divides a picture area of the current picture into a first part and a second part;
determining a first threshold corresponding to the first part and a second threshold corresponding to the second part, wherein at least one of the first threshold and the second threshold comprises a negative value and the negative value indicates displacement;
applying a first blending mask, based on the first threshold to the first part to generate a first blended region, and a second blending mask, based on the second threshold to the second part to generate a second blended region, and
at least one of the first blending mask and the second blending mask is based on weighting values of a certain position (xc, ye) and is given by a ramp function; and
reconstructing an image including a prediction for the picture area comprising the first part and the second part as modified by the first blended region and the second blended region.
8. A method for video encoding, the method comprising:
receiving video data comprising a current picture; and encoding the video data and current picture into a video bitstream to be processed based on: identifying a partitioning boundary that divides a picture area of the current picture into a first part and a second part;
determining a first threshold corresponding to the first part and a second threshold corresponding to the second part, wherein at least one of the first threshold and the second threshold comprises a negative value and the negative value indicates displacement;
applying a first blending mask, based on the first threshold to the first part to generate a first blended region, and a second blending mask, based on the second threshold to the second part to generate a second blended region, and
at least one of the first blending mask and the second blending mask is based on weighting values of a certain position (xc, ye) and is given by a ramp function; and
reconstructing an image including a prediction for the picture area comprising the first part and the second part as modified by the first blended region and the second blended region.
1. A method for video decoding, the method comprising:
receiving a video bitstream comprising a current block in a current picture;
identifying a partitioning boundary that divides a picture area of the current picture into a first part and a second part;
determining a first threshold corresponding to the first part and a second threshold corresponding to the second part, wherein at least one of the first threshold and the second threshold comprises a negative value and the negative value indicates displacement;
applying a first blending mask, based on the first threshold to the first part to generate a first blended region, and a second blending mask, based on the second threshold to the second part to generate a second blended region,
the first blending mask is different from the second blending mask, and at least one of the first blending mask and the second blending mask is based on weighting values of a certain position (x.sub.c, y.sub.c) and is given by a ramp function; and
reconstructing an image including a prediction for the picture area comprising the first part and the second part as modified by the first blended region and the second blended region.
8. A method for video encoding, the method comprising:
receiving video data comprising a current picture; and encoding the video data and current picture into a video bitstream to be processed based on: identifying a partitioning boundary that divides a picture area of the current picture into a first part and a second part;
determining a first threshold corresponding to the first part and a second threshold corresponding to the second part, wherein at least one of the first threshold and the second threshold comprises a negative value and the negative value indicates displacement;
applying a first blending mask, based on the first threshold to the first part to generate a first blended region, and a second blending mask, based on the second threshold to the second part to generate a second blended region,
the first blending mask is different from the second blending mask, and at least one of the first blending mask and the second blending mask is based on weighting values of a certain position (x.sub.c, y.sub.c) and is given by a ramp function; and
reconstructing an image including a prediction for the picture area comprising the first part and the second part as modified by the first blended region and the second blended region.
Independent claims 1 and 8 are representative of the corresponding subject matter recited in claims 2-7 and 9-20. The remaining claims recite substantially the same or corresponding limitations. Therefore, the supporting rational set forth above with respect to independent claims 1 and 8 applies equally to claims 2-7 and 9-20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASTEWAYE GETTU ZEWEDE whose telephone number is (703)756-1441. The examiner can normally be reached Mo-Fr 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
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/ASTEWAYE GETTU ZEWEDE/Examiner, Art Unit 2481 /WILLIAM C VAUGHN JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2481
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