Application No. 16/874,037
`Reply to Office Action Dated August 4, 2021
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`REMARKS
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`Applicant respectfully requests reconsideration of this application in view of the above
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`amendments and the following remarks. Claims 1-20 will be pending upon entry of this
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`amendment. Claims 1, 12 and 16 are amended. No new matter has been addedto the
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`application.
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`Acknowledgment of Information Disclosure Statement is Requested
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`Applicant has submitted a supplemental Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) on
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`August 3, 2021, a day prior to the issuance ofthe present office action. Acknowledgementof the
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`IDS is respectfully requested.
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`Rejections Under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are Overcome
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`Claims 1-9 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US
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`20180109812 A1-Tsaiet al (“Tsai”), in view of US 20170006309 A1-Liu et al (“Liv”).
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`Claims 10-11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of
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`Liu, in further view of Patent 10721492 B2-Sonet al (“Son”).
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`Applicant has amendedindependentclaims 1, 12 and 16, to more particularly recite the
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`subject matter that applicant considers as their invention in a manner moreclearly
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`distinguishable from thepriorart.
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`In particular, claims 1, 12 and 16 now recite, among others,
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`--determinfing] whether a second block, whichis one ofthe plurality of second blocks,
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`is located adjacent to an edge ofthe picture,
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`--wherein the second partition mode prohibits a quad tree splitting of the second block in
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`response to a determination that the second block is located adjacent to the edge of the picture
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`and that the dimensions of the second block satisfy the second condition.
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`Applicant respectfully submits that Tsai, Liu and Son, alone or in any combination, do
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`not teach or suggest the subject matter now more explicitly recited in claims 1, 12 and 16, as
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`amended.
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`In the office action under “Response to Arguments”the examiner noted that: “Tsai
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`discloses in [0073], wherein if the current CU size is not larger than 16x16, only BT is used.
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`

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`Application No. 16/874,037
`Reply to Office Action Dated August 4, 2021
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`Therefore, if only BT is used, then it would be inherent that Quadtree is prohibited regardlessif
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`the block is located to an edge of a picture or not. Since the claim neverspecies that the Quad
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`tree splitting was only prohibited on the bases of a block being adjacent to the edge ofa picture,
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`it would be obviousto one of ordinary skilled in the art that prohibiting the quad tree in a broad
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`manner would includeall aspects including a block being adjacent to an edge.”
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`Applicant respectfully notes that, if “Quad tree is prohibited regardless if the block is
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`located to an edge ofa picture or not,” then there is no need to determine whetherthe blockis
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`located adjacent to an edge of a picture or not. Accordingly, Tsai does not render obvious the
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`step of “determin[ing] whether a second block ... is located adjacent to an edge of the picture”
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`as claimed. It follows then that Tsai still further fails to teach or suggest “prohibit[ing] a quad
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`tree splitting of the second block in response to a determination that the second block is located
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`adjacent to the edge of the picture” as now claimed.
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`Therefore, claims 1, 12 and 16, as amended, are now believed to be clearly allowable.
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`Allowanceof these claims as well as their respective dependent claims is respectfully requested.
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`Conclusion
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`Forat least these reasons, Applicant respectfully requests allowance of the pending claims.
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`In the event the Examinerfinds minor informalities that can be resolved by telephone conference
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`or if the Examinerbelieves a telephone conference would facilitate prosecution of this application,
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`the Examiner is urged to contact Applicant’s undersigned representative by telephone at (206)
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`622-4900 in order to expeditiously resolve prosecution of this application.
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`Seed Intellectual Property Law Group Lip
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`/Shoko Leek/
`Shoko I. Leek
`Registration No. 43,746
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`701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, Washington 98104
`Phone: (206) 622-4900 | Fax:
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`(206) 682-6031
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`sLijl
`8121046_1
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