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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and TrademarkOffice
`Address; COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
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`17/116,137
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`12/09/2020
`
`Jing Ya LI
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`735256.453
`
`8085
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`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panasonic (PIPCA)
`701 5th Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
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`TORRENTE, RICHARD T
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`ART UNIT
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`2485
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`06/08/2021
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`ELECTRONIC
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`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):
`USPTOeAction @ SeedIP.com
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`pairlinkdktg @seedip.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`
`
`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`5a) Of the above claim(s) ___ is/are withdrawn from consideration.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.
`S)
`) © Claim(s)____is/are objected to.
`Cj) Claim(s
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`)
`S)
`* 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 3/10/21 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)Z) 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)X) All
`1.2 Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.2) 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)
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`1)
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`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
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`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) (J Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`(Qj Other:
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`4)
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`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20210601
`
`Application No.
`Applicant(s)
`17/116,137
`Liet al.
`
`Office Action Summary Art Unit|AIA (FITF) StatusExaminer
`RICHARD T TORRENTE
`2485
`Yes
`
`
`
`-- The MAILING DATEofthis communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of 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
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`1) Responsive to communication(s) filed on 3/10/21.
`C} A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
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`2a)L) This action is FINAL. 2b)¥)This action is non-final.
`3)02 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\0) 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.
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`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/116,137
`Art Unit: 2485
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`Page 2
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`DETAILED ACTION
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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, is being examined underthe
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`first inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
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`Information Disclosure Statement
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`The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/9/20 are in compliance
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`with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, these information disclosure statements are
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`being considered by the examiner.
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`Specification
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`The title of the invention is not descriptive. A newtitle is required thatis clearly
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`indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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`The following title is suggested: Encoding and Decoding with Merge Mode and Block
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`Partition Index.
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`The drawings were received on 3/10/21. These drawings are acceptable.
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`Drawings
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`1.
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`In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C.
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`102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AlA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103)is incorrect, any correction of the
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`statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art
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`relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same undereitherstatus.
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`2.
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`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness
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`rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 17/116,137
`Art Unit: 2485
`
`Page 3
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`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 of thistitle, if the differences
`between the claimed invention andthe prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole
`would have been obvious before the effectivefiling 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.
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`3.
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`Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao et al. (US
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`2021/0051335) in view of Yasugi et al. (US 2019/0364279 A1).
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`Regarding claim 1, Liao discloses an encoder(see 200Ain fig. 2A), comprising: circuitry
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`(see 402 in fig. 4); and memory(see 404in fig. 4) connected to the circuitry, wherein the
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`circuitry, in operation, determines a modeto be applied to a block from a plurality of merge
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`modes(e.g. see selecting geometric partition among regular, MMVD, sublock, CIIP and triangle
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`merge modein fig. 16) based on a width of the block and a height of the block (e.g. see
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`geometric partition modeis only applied to blocks based on width and height in [0146]), when
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`the mode determinedis a first mode (e.g. see geometric partition in fig. 16), stores ina
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`bitstream an index indicating a distance and an angle that define two partitions in the block (see
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`fig. 14), and encodesthe block using the first mode (see “true” in fig. 16; see 226 in fig. 2A).
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`Although Liao discloses disables storing of the index in the bitstream according to a ratio
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`of the width and height (e.g. see “partition mode is only applied” in {| [0146] indicating prohibited
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`splitting will not have a designated index, thus not stored), it is noted that Liao does not disclose
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`wherein the ratio is when (i) the width is at least 8 times as muchas the heightor (ii) the height
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`is at least 8 times as much as the width.
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`However, Yasugi discloses an encoding with merge mode disablesstoring of the index
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`in the bitstream (see “split is prohibited” in J [0447], thus no index is assigned to store) when (i)
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`the width is at least 8 times as muchasthe heightor (ii) the height is at least 8 times as much
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`as the width (see split restriction prohibited when width and heightratio is “e.g., 1:8 (4.times.32,
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`8.times.64) and 8:1 (32.times.4, 64.times.8) in J [0447]).
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 17/116,137
`Art Unit: 2485
`
`Page 4
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`Given the teachings as a whole, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the
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`art before the effective filing date to incorporate Yasugi teachings of prohibiting block split into
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`Liao merge modefor the benefit of having the capability of implementing complex split patterns
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`with less split depth.
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`Regarding claims 2 and 5, the references further disclose wherein the circuitry disables
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`the storing of the index in the bitstream when(i) the width is 64 pixels and the heightis 8 pixels
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`or (ii) the width is 8 pixels and the height is 64 pixels (e.g. see Yasugi {| [0447]).
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`Regarding claims 3 and 6, Liao further disclose wherein a line that determines shapesof
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`the two partitions in the block is defined by the distance and the angle (seefig. 11), the distance
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`is a distance between a centerof the block and the line, and the angle is an angle related to the
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`line (see fig. 11).
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`Regarding claim 4, the claim(s) recite a decoder(see fig. 3A) with analogous limitations
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`to claim 1, and is/are therefore rejected on the same premise.
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`Regarding claim 7, the claim(s) recite analogous limitations to claim 1, and is/are
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`therefore rejected on the same premise.
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`Regarding claim 8, the claim(s) recite analogous limitations to claim 4, and is/are
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`therefore rejected on the same premise.
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`Citation of Pertinent Art
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`The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
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`disclosure.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 17/116,137
`Art Unit: 2485
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`Page 5
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`1.
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`2.
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`3.
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`Huang et al. (US 2020/0374528), discloses merge mode with video coding.
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`Koo et al. (US 2021/0105477), discloses coding with block width and height ratio.
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`Lee et al. (US 2021/0120265), discloses affine motion merge mode.
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`Conclusion
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`Anyinquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
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`should be directed to RICHARD T TORRENTE whosetelephone numberis (571)270-3702.
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`The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 6:45-3:15 pm.
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`Examinerinterviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing
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`using a USPTO supplied web-basedcollaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicantis
`
`encouraged to use the USPTO AutomatedInterview Request (AIR)at
`
`http:/Awww.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
`
`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, Jay Patel can be reached on (571) 272-2988. The fax phone numberfor the
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`organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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`Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent
`
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`
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`
`/RICHARD T TORRENTE/
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2485
`
`