Patent ID: 7580459

Claim:
A moving picture coding method for coding a moving picture, wherein in said moving picture coding method, a picture is coded by one of an intra picture coding method and an inter picture coding method, and when a picture is coded by the inter picture coding method, at least one of the following pictures is selected as a reference picture: an intra coded picture which is coded by the intra picture coding method; a picture located before the intra coded picture in display order; and a picture located after the intra coded picture in display order, said moving picture coding method comprises: choosing one of an intra picture coding method and an inter picture coding method as a picture coding method for a current picture; when the inter picture coding method is chosen, coding the current picture by the inter picture coding method; when the intra picture coding method is chosen, specifying the current picture as a specified picture which is used for restricting selection of the reference picture, coding information indicating that the current picture is specified as the specified picture, and coding the current picture by the intra picture coding method, wherein, for a picture to be coded by the inter picture coding method after the specified picture, selecting at least one of the following pictures as the reference picture: the specified picture and a picture which is coded after the specified picture, while prohibiting from selecting, as the reference picture, a picture which has been coded before the specified picture.