`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
`
`17/832,973
`
`06/06/2022
`
`Virginie DRUGEON
`
`2022-1036A
`
`TI67
`
`Cp
`Lind&
`Wenderoth,
`Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
`1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW
`Suite 500
`Washington, DC 20036
`
`ZHOU,ZHIHAN
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`ART UNIT
`2482
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`12/04/2023
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e-mail address(es):
`eoa@ wenderoth.com
`kmiller@wenderoth.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`
`
`
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Application No.
`17/832,973
`Examiner
`ZHIHAN ZHOU
`
`Applicant(s)
`DRUGEON etal.
`Art Unit
`AIA (FITF) Status
`2482
`Yes
`
`-- The MAILING DATEof this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORYPERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensionsof time may be available underthe provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply betimely filed after SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing
`date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, evenif timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`1) Responsive to communication(s) filed on 06/06/2022.
`C} A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
`
`2a)() This action is FINAL. 2b)¥)This action is non-final.
`3) An election was madeby the applicant in responseto a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`4)(2) Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quayle, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`1-8 is/are pending in the application.
`)
`Claim(s)
`5a) Of the above claim(s) _ is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`C] Claim(s)
`is/are allowed.
`Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected.
`(] Claim(s)__ is/are objectedto.
`C] Claim(s
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`)
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you maybeeligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`Application Papers
`10)( The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11) The drawing(s) filed on 06/06/2022 is/are: a)[¥) accepted or b)(.) objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121(d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)£) Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d)or (f).
`Certified copies:
`_—_c)L) None ofthe:
`b)L) Some**
`a)Q) All
`1.1) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.1.) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No. |
`3.2.) Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been receivedin this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`*“ See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`(LJ Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`(Qj Other:
`4)
`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date06/06/2022,01/09/2023,
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3)
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20231128
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 17/832,973
`Art Unit: 2482
`
`Page 2
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`Notice of Pre-AlA or AIA Status
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`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013,
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`is being examined underthefirst
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`inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`This office action is in response to a newly filed application in which claims 1-8 of the instant
`
`application are pending and ready for examination.
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
`
`The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for
`
`the rejections underthis section made in this Office action:
`
`A person shall be entitled to a patent unless —
`
`(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use,
`on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed
`invention.
`
`Claims 1, 4, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ISO (“Text
`
`of ISO/IEC CD 23090-3 Versatile Video Coding”). ISO was cited in applicant’s IDS filed on 01/09/2023.
`
`As to claim 1, ISO teaches an encoder comprising: circuitry; and memory coupledto the
`
`circuitry, wherein in operation, the circuitry:
`
`determines whether or not a current video to be processed is a progressive video (Pages 482-
`
`434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1);
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`when it is determined that the current video is a progressive video, encodes one syntax element
`
`indicating a chroma location type into a bitstream, the chroma location type being information indicating
`
`
`
`Application/Control Number: 17/832,973
`Art Unit: 2482
`
`Page 3
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`locations of chroma samplesrelative to luma samples for a frame included in the current video (Pages
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`432-434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1);
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`and whenit is determined that the current video is not a progressive video, encodes two syntax
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`elements into the bitstream, each of the two syntax elements indicating the chroma location type fora
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`different one of fields of two typesincluded in the current video (Pages 432-434, Sections E.2.1 and
`
`E.3.1).
`
`Asto claim 7, the aforementioned claim is rejected similarly as claim 7.
`
`As to claim 4, ISO teaches a decoder comprising: circuitry; and memory coupled to the circuitry,
`
`wherein in operation, the circuitry:
`
`determines whether or not a current video to be processed is a progressive video (Pages 482-
`
`434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1);
`
`whenit is determined that the current video is a progressive video, decodes one syntax element
`
`indicating a chroma location type from a bitstream, the chroma location type being information indicating
`
`locations of chroma samplesrelative to luma samplesfor a frame included in the current video (Pages
`
`432-434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1);
`
`and whenit is determined that the current video is not a progressive video, decodes two syntax
`
`elements from the bitstream, each of the two syntax elements indicating the chroma locationtype fora
`
`different one of fields of two types included inthe current video (Pages 432-434, Sections E.2.1 and
`
`E.3.1).
`
`Asto claim 8, the aforementioned claim is rejected similarly as claim 8.
`
`
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`Application/Control Number: 17/832,973
`Art Unit: 2482
`
`Page 4
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`The following is a quotation of 35U.S.C. 103 which formsthe basis for all obviousness rejections
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`set forthin this Office action:
`
`A patentfor 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 thepriorart 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 skillin the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be
`negated by the mannerin which the invention was made.
`
`Claims 2-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ISO in view of
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`Hannuksela (US 2015/0264404).
`
`As to claims 2 and 5, ISO doesnot teach wherein the circuitry determines whether the current
`
`video is a progressive video oran interlaced video, usingafirst flag indicating whether or not the current
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`video is a progressive video and a second flag indicating whether or not the current video is an interlaced
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`video, the first flag and the second flag being included in a video usability information syntax structure.
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`However, ISO does teach a field_seq_flag syntax element, a VUI syntax parameter, that indicates
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`whether coded video sequences conveypictures that represent frames or whether a frame-field
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`information SEI message shall be present for every coded picture in the coded video sequence (Pages
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`432-434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1).
`
`In addition, Hannuksela teaches using two separate flags indicating whether or not the current
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`video is a progressive video and whether or not the current videois an interlaced video, the two separate
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`flags being included in a video usability information syntax structure ([0220]-[0227],
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`including the TABLE
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`shownin [0227]).
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`Therefore,
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`it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill inthe art before the effective filing
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`date of the invention to modify ISO’s teachings with Hannuksela’s teachings to show wherein the circuitry
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`
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`Application/Control Number: 17/832,973
`Art Unit: 2482
`
`Page 5
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`determines whether the current video is a progressive video or an interlaced video, usingafirst flag
`
`indicating whether or not the current video is a progressive video and a second flag indicating whether or
`
`not the current video is an interlaced video, the first flag and the second flag being included in a video
`
`usability information syntax structure in order to provide improved and moreflexible video coding
`
`techniques.
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`Asto claim 3, the combination of ISO and Hannuksela teaches wherein the circuitry further:
`
`encodes, into the bitstream, a third flag indicating whether or not the information indicating the locations
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`of chroma samplesrelative to luma samples for the frame is included in the bitstream as the one syntax
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`element or the two syntax elements; and in a case where the third flag indicates that the information
`
`indicating the locations of chroma samplesrelative to luma samples for the frame is included in the
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`bitstream: encodes the one syntax element into the bitstream whenit is determined, using the first flag
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`and the second flag, that the current video is a progressive video; and encodesthe two syntax elements
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`into the bitstream whenit is determined, using thefirst flag and the secondflag, that the current video is
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`an interlaced video (ISO; Pages 482-434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1; Hannuksela; [0220]-[0227]).
`
`Asto claim 6, the combination of ISO and Hannuksela teaches wherein the circuitry further:
`
`decodes, from the bitstream, a third flag indicating whether or not the information indicating the locations
`
`of chroma samplesrelative to luma samples for the frame is included in the bitstream as the one syntax
`
`element or the two syntax elements; and in a case where the third flag indicates that the information
`
`indicating the locations of chroma samplesrelative to luma samples forthe frame is included in the
`
`bitstream: decodes the one syntax element from the bitstream whenit is determined, using the first flag
`
`and the secondflag, that the current video is a progressive video; and decodes the two syntax elements
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`from the bitstream when it is determined, using the first flag and the secondflag, that the current video is
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`an interlaced video (ISO; Pages 482-434, Sections E.2.1 and E.3.1; Hannuksela; [0220]-[0227]).
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`Conclusion
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`
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`Application/Control Number: 17/832,973
`Art Unit: 2482
`
`Page 6
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`Anyinquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should
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`be directed to ZHIHAN ZHOU whose telephone numberis (571)270-7284. The examiner can normally be
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`reached Mondays-Fridays 8:30am-5pm.
`
`Examinerinterviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a
`
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`
`the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
`
`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiners supervisor,
`
`Christopher Kelley can be reached on 571-272-7331. The fax phone numberfor the organization where
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`this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
`
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`from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA)or 571-272-
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`1000.
`
`/ZHIHAN ZHOU/
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2482
`
`