Patent ID: 8879860

Claim:
An image decoding method, comprising: obtaining pieces of coded data included in a bitstream and generated by coding tiles obtained by dividing a picture; and decoding the pieces of coded data to generate image data of the tiles, wherein in the obtaining of the pieces of coded data, tile boundary independence information is further obtained from the bitstream, the tile boundary independence information indicating whether each of boundaries between the tiles is one of a first boundary and a second boundary, and the decoding of the pieces of coded data includes: generating image data of a first tile which is one of the tiles by decoding a first code string included in first coded data with reference to decoding information of an already-decoded tile which is another one of the tiles when the tile boundary independence information indicates the first boundary, and decoding the first code string without referring to the decoding information of the already-decoded tile when the tile boundary independence information indicates the second boundary, the first coded data being one of the pieces of coded data; and skipping a predetermined bit string located after the first code string in the first coded data.