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 .
Examiner’s Note
Claims 1-8 refer to "An image decoding method”, Claim 9 refers to "An image encoding method”, and, Claim 10 refers to "A method for transmitting a bitstream”. Claims 9-10 are similarly rejected in light of rejection of claims 1-8, any obvious combination of the rejection of claims 1-8, or the differences are obvious to the ordinary skill in the art. It is well known in the art that encoding and decoding are reverse processes of video coding method/system.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20160241868 A1), hereinafter Li, in view of Ye et al. (US 20100086049 A1), hereinafter Ye, further in view of Jeon et al. (US 20160269730 A1), hereinafter Jeon.
Regarding claim 1, Li discloses an image decoding method, comprising (Abstract): and (Fig. 18).
Li discloses all the elements of claim 1 but Li does not appear to explicitly disclose in the cited section obtaining, from a first level of a bitstream, one or more flags indicating whether one or more second transforms are applicable for
However, Ye from the same or similar endeavor teaches obtaining, from a first level of a bitstream, one or more flags indicating whether one or more second transforms are applicable for ([0024], [0061]-[0080], combination of flags, could be layers of flags).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li to incorporate the teachings of Ye to have a low bit rate syntax (Ye, [0024). Similar reasoning/motivation of modification can be applied/extended to the other related/dependent claims.
Li in view of Ye discloses all the elements of claim 1 but they does not appear to explicitly disclose in the cited section indicating whether a transform process for the current block is omitted; determining whether the transform process for the current block is omitted based on the information; and transforming the current block based on the determined results, wherein the information is obtained when a size of the current block is less than a predetermined value.
However, Jeon from the same or similar endeavor teaches indicating whether a transform process for the current block is omitted; determining whether the transform process for the current block is omitted based on the information; and transforming the current block based on the determined results, wherein the information is obtained when a size of the current block is less than a predetermined value (Fig. 3-4, [0017]-[0030]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Li in view of Ye to incorporate the teachings of Jeon to improve compression rate and image quality (Jeon, Abstract). Similar reasoning/motivation of modification can be applied/extended to the other related/dependent claims.
Regarding claim 2, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein a number of the one or more additional transforms is 2 or more (It is obvious to the ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding claim 3, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the first level is a sequence level or a picture level of the bitstream (It is obvious to the ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding claim 4, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein the second level is a block level of the bitstream (It is obvious to the ordinary skill in the art).
Regarding claim 5, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein an additional transform, among the one or more additional transforms, performed on the current block is determined based on a block partition mode of the current block (Ye, Fig. 18, Li, [0061]-[0080]).
Regarding claim 6, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein an additional transform, among the one or more additional transforms, performed on the current block is determined based on an encoding mode of the current block (Ye, Fig. 18, Li, [0061]-[0080]).
Regarding claim 7, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, wherein an additional transform, among the one or more additional transforms, performed on the current block is determined based on an intra prediction mode of the current block (Ye, Fig. 18, Li, [0056], [0061]-[0080]).
Regarding claim 8, Li in view of Ye discloses the image decoding method of claim 1, further comprising: deriving a quantization parameter prediction value for the current block based on a quantization parameter set at a unit higher than the current block or a quantization parameter set at the same unit as the current block; and deriving the transform coefficient based on the quantization parameter prediction value and a quantization parameter difference value for the current block, wherein the quantization parameter difference value is obtained from the bitstream based on first information included in the bitstream (Ye, Fig. 18, [0056], Li, [0056], [0061]-[0080]).
Regarding claim 9-10, See Examiner’s Note.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MOHAMMAD J RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7190. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
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.
/Mohammad J Rahman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
Prosecution Insights