Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 19/342,304

METHOD, APPARATUS, AND MEDIUM FOR VIDEO PROCESSING

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 26, 2025
Priority
Mar 29, 2023 — CN PCT/CN2023/084838 +1 more
Examiner
LI, TRACY Y
Art Unit
2487
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Bytedance Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 8m
Est. Remaining
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allowance Rate
617 granted / 765 resolved
+22.7% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
13 currently pending
Career history
793
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
§103
68.5%
+28.5% vs TC avg
§102
11.4%
-28.6% vs TC avg
§112
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 765 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 2, 12, 13, 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20260214204 A1 Naser; Karam et al. (hereafter Naser). Regarding claim 1, Naser discloses A method of video processing (Fig.4), comprising: obtaining, for a conversion between a video unit of a video and a bitstream of the video (Fig.2, [115], encoder is the conversion), a prediction or reconstruction of the video unit based on at least one of (Fig.3, [94], intra prediction 360 and inter prediction 375 will generate prediction block/prediction signal, and the output of adder 355 is the reconstructed image block): one or more intra template matching prediction (TMP) candidates ([10], [142], obtaining a prediction from spatial geometric prediction mode based on intraTMP), or a prediction signal of a current template that is generated using at least one of: an intra TMP candidate ([137]-[138], a prediction block of a current template is the prediction signal generated, or a reconstructed part is generated from prediction block a current template) or an intra prediction ([143]), and wherein the video unit is applied with a fusion of intra TMP mode and a coding tool (Fig.2, [92], [137], the video input is applied into the combination of an intra TM prediction/ inter prediction (e.g. motion compensation) and filter as an coding tool); and performing the conversion based on the prediction or reconstruction of the video unit (Fig.2, [137], entropy coding is the conversion). Regarding claim 2, Naser discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction signal of the current template is used in intra TMP ([143]). Regarding claim 12, Naser discloses The method of claim 1, wherein a pruning operation is used to derive the one or more intra TMP candidates (]129]-[130]). Regarding claim 13, Naser discloses The method of claim 1, wherein a reordering operation is used to derive the one or more intra TMP candidates ([149]). Regarding claim 16, Naser discloses The method of claim 1, wherein intra TMP prediction signals indicated by the one or more intra TMP candidates are fused first, and the fused intra TMP prediction signals are fused with an intra prediction signal, and/or wherein intra TMP prediction signals and an intra prediction signals are directly fused, and/or wherein a mode index of intra prediction modes (IPMs) derived using template-based intra mode derivation (TIMD) is mapped to a range of [0, 66], and/or wherein IPMs derived using TIMD are used directly, and/or wherein IPMs are derived using a decoder-side intra mode derivation (DIMD) or TIMD, and/or wherein if DIMD or TIMD is disabled, pre-defined IPMs are used, and/or wherein coding information is used for the fusion, and/or wherein a search method same as other IntraTMP methods is used for a derivation of the one or more intra TMP candidates, and/or wherein an intra prediction signal and an intra TMP prediction signal are used in the fusion of the intra TMP mode and the coding tool, and/or wherein adaptive weighting parameters are used for the fusion ( Fig.2, [92], [137], {143]). Regarding claim 17, Naser discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the conversion includes encoding the video unit into the bitstream, or wherein the conversion includes decoding the video unit from the bitstream (Fig.3). Regarding claims 18-20. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. 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. Claim(s) 3-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naser, and further in view of US 20170353719 A1 LIU; Shan et al. (hereafter Liu). Regarding claim 3, Naser discloses The method of claim 2, wherein the prediction signal of the current template is used to obtain the one or more intra TMP candidates ([143]), Liu teaches and/or wherein the prediction signal of the current template is used to derive one or more weighting parameters for the fusion ([16]-[19]). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of video processing disclosed by Naser to include the teaching in the same field of endeavor of Liu, in order to reduce the complexity or improve the coding efficiency associated with template-based Intra prediction, as identified by Liu. Regarding claim 4, Liu teaches The method of claim 1, wherein a derivation of the one or more intra TMP candidates is different from intra TMP, and wherein a plurality of templates is used to derive the one or more intra TMP candidates ([29]). Regarding claim 5, Naser discloses The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more intra TMP candidates are derived using an L-shape template ([138]). Regarding claim 6, Liu teaches The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more intra TMP candidates are derived using a left template (Fig.9, [33]). Regarding claim 7, Liu teaches The method of claim 6, wherein the left template comprises at least one of: left samples, left-top samples, or left-bottom samples ([22]). Regarding claim 8, Liu teaches The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more intra TMP candidates are derived using an above template ([33]). Regarding claim 9, Liu teaches The method of claim 8, wherein the above template comprises at least one of: above samples, left-top samples, or right-above samples ([22]). Regarding claim 10, Liu teaches The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of templates is used, if both left and above samples are available (Fig.9, [59]). Regarding claim 11, Liu teaches The method of claim 4, wherein a non-adjacent template is used (Figs.16, [85]). Claim(s) 14, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naser, and further in view of US 20240357153 A1 CHEN; Chun-Chia et al. (hereafter Chen). Regarding claim 14, Chen teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more intra TMP candidates are sub-pel precision ([72]). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of video processing disclosed by Naser to include the teaching in the same field of endeavor of Chen, in order to reduce the complexity or improve the coding efficiency associated with template-based Intra prediction, as identified by Liu. Regarding claim 15, Chen teaches The method of claim 14, wherein whether an IntraTMP candidate is sub-pel precision and/or how to obtain a sub-pel IntraTMP candidate is derived, and/or wherein whether an IntraTMP candidate is sub-pel precision and/or how to obtain a sub-pel IntraTMP candidate is signalled, and/or wherein an interpolation filter used to obtain a sub-pel intra TMP candidate and/or which samples are used for interpolation is pre-defined, or derived, or signalled, and/or wherein a target intra TMP candidate is integer precision or sub-pel precision, and other intra TMP candidates are integer precision ([11]-[12], [72]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: WO 2024145857 A1, WO 2022221013 A1, US 20170339404 A1. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACY Y. LI whose telephone number is (571)270-3671. The examiner can normally be reached Monday Friday (8:30 AM- 4:30 PM) EST. 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, David Czekaj can be reached at (571) 272-7327. 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. /TRACY Y. LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12771861
CAMERA DEVICE ENHANCED FOR ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK
1y 8m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12764328
MOTION VECTOR REFINEMENT FOR MULTI-REFERENCE PREDICTION
1y 9m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12748209
PULSED ILLUMINATION IN A HYPERSPECTRAL, FLUORESCENCE AND LASER MAPPING IMAGING SYSTEM
3y 0m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12744920
Encoding Device and Method for Utility-Driven Video Compression
4y 0m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739437
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING AN IMAGE
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
81%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+16.0%)
2y 9m (~1y 8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 765 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month